A guest column by Ek Liljgren from Chinchilla, Queensland
“Do not judge,” right, that is what I hear often. This is one of the most quotable and yet misquoted parts of Scripture The Bible does not say, “Do not judge” …it says, in Matthew 7, “Judge not, that you be not judged”, or in John 7:24 it says “Just not based on appearance, but with right judgement.”. Sure enough, there is room to judge what is right and what is wrong, this is good discernment. That being said, God gives us a standard, His ten commandments, His Law, and the fruit of His Spirit as a guide to Godly judgement. Here is the main difference, Godly Judgement is meant for a conviction that will lead to repentance which leads to salvation, worldly judgement only leaves the judged condemned.
In Godly Judgement, the verdict is always the same, the only judgement we can give is, as Scripture testifies, that “all have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God” according to Romans 3, and that the wages of sin is death according to Romans 6. The judgement is there, and it is final, the judgement is that we have fallen short and sinned, and the sentence is death. This is the right judgement that all have fallen short, and all have sinned, and all need to repent and put their faith in Jesus Christ as saviour, as the one who paid the punishment for our sins.
Yet, there is still a warning about judging. Just because the Bible says we can judge does not mean that there are no limits to our judgement. There are firm warnings and limitations to our judgements. I want to look at a few of those.
Judging by appearances
John 7:24 specifically says, “do not judge based on appearance”. This is a Biblical command. It might be tempting to judge someone on how they dress or how they look, especially on a Sunday morning, but that is not a Biblical reason for judgement. You don’t know someone’s situation. While it is true that you yourself should give God your best in worship, this is only for yourself, and nowhere in Scripture is this a means by which to judge someone’s ability to worship, to use their gifts, or their faith. In fact, scripture prohibits judging based on appearances. Anyone who disobeys this Biblical command does so in sin. You don’t know someone’s circumstances when it comes to their appearance, and by judging them in this way, you would only be condemning them.
Gossip
If you have cause for judgement, there is a system within the body of Christ to deal with it. We start with Proverbs 25:9, which says that you should argue your case “without betraying confidence”. Of course, there are times when this is not possible so the body of Christ has elders to deal with such issues as Judges as per Matthew 18. But what is not condoned is Gossip. In fact, a gossip is listed in Romans 1 in the same list as a God hater, homosexual, or adulterer. If a believer is a gossip or slanderer, they are marked as such and if they do not repent, “have nothing to do with them” or their fruitless works.
Judging without an understanding of God’s law
If you judge and you claim that your judgement is based on God’s law, and you go out and speak that judgement in a way that is not in accordance with God’s law, then you have become a hypocrite. Gossip, slander, and hatred, are all denials of God’s law and grace. According to James 4, those who misuse the law in this way are not just judging the person but judging the law of God. Can we judge God’s law? This will lead me to the next point.
Hypercriticism
God gives us a standard by which we judge the states of one’s faith. It is found in Ephesians 5 in the listing of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Among what is listed, you will not find a person’s physical appearance, their style of dress, their level of income, their ability to be popular and acceptable in social situations, their cool factor, their employment, which authors they read, what style of music they listen to, or their educational attainment. Adding any such requirements adds condemnation to those who judge in this way. As they become a false teacher as no such requirements exist in scripture.
Judging based on popularity
Jesus was a popular Preacher in John 5 and 6. I mean, he had 5 thousand people attending his sermon. That is a mega church five times over, he was popular, but in one fell swoop of truth, he preached a sermon that was difficult, and they all left, leaving him in the end with what most would consider a small, failing congregation of 120 people. Popularity is not one of the fruits of the Spirit, nor is it a means to judge someone or a ministry. Likes and books sold do not always translate into adherence to the Gospel. Which of the Apostles were popular and well-liked by the world, no, all of them, save for John, who was exiled, were executed by the world because of their unpopularity. Jesus says in Matthew 10:22 that you will be hated on account of him. Popularity is not a means by which to judge someone’s faith.
Judging without first judging yourself
I find it interesting when people use Romans 1 to judge someone else. This is most often done as a judgement against homosexuals. It is clear what the Bible says about homosexuals in Romans 1; however, it is also clear that if you are going to use that text, you had also be ready to use it against gossips, liars, slanderers, and those disobedient to parents. Whenever you use the law to judge someone else, you need to be ready for that same law to judge yourself. This is not to say that the law does not judge us, but it is an admission that we are all judged according to this law, and we are all found to have fallen short, and we are all deserving of the same sentence and all in need of the same saviour.
There is a reason for this. While righteous judgement done in love and in the bounds of God’s law can bring about a Godly sorrow that leads to repentance, unrighteous judgement will only lead a person to division and despair.
You see, unrighteous judgement does not lead someone to Godly sorrow, which will lead to repentance, it only cuts them off from hope and will only lead them to despair. Righteous Judgement calls out the sinner but also proclaims grace that is given not by words but by God’s grace through faith and leads to repentance that leads to eternal life. An unrighteous judgement is a judgement by works that leads only to condemnation and despair.
Ek Liljegren is a Church of Christ Minister from Chinchilla, Qld
Image Credit hippopx.com