To Judge or Not to Judge?---That is the Question!

Sometimes of the words of Jesus are rather confusing. While at times you believe He is saying one thing, He then turns that tables and makes comments that are seemingly contradictory to what you though He said. Take Matthew 7 for instance. We are told not to “judge” (V.1); however, we are then told that if are heart is in the right place, we are allowed to speak into the lives of those who are erring in their ways (v.3-6). To further this, Jesus then tells us that we can recognize a “tree by its fruit” (v.15-23) which clearly tells us that He has given us a sense of discernment to make judgments concerning the issue of “truth.” So on one hand, Jesus tells us “Do not judge” and on the other, He tells us that we can “judge.” What is the method to his madness? Using the words of Shakespeare to fit our thinking, “To judge or not to judge?---that is the question!”

Writing from the perspective of an American (for those of you in Germany, Russia, and the UK), we take this issue very seriously. In fact, it appears to be an “either-or” way of thinking. In one camp you have the “Don’t judge me” people and in the other, you have the “I’m God’s agent of wrath who can reveal everything within the hearts of men” people. The truth is, neither one of these type of people are following the Biblical precedent concerning the Christians ability to “judge or not to judge.” The result is what you have come to see in this country. The “don’t judge me” people gravitate to churches that make them “feel” good about everything. They don’t talk about “sin” as they should and the goal of their faith is to be “happy.” If they are confronted about some sinful behavior by concerning people, they respond quite vehemently “Don’t judge me!” The other camp feels its place to condemn everyone who does not meet up to their “standard.” This is best scene in the ungodly ideas of Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka Kansas” Clearly they have a “plank” in their eye called “hate” which is something that is not in the heart of God (not that I’m judging). For those of you in the “Don’t judge me” camp you also have to live with your hypocrisy as you most likely believe that Westboro is “wrong” in doing things like protesting military funerals---thus “judging them” for their actions.

The answer to this dilemma is simple---We are to judge---but not as we think. There are judgments that are reserved solely for God Himself. He alone is the only One who can determine a person’s eternal destination; furthermore, He alone is the only One who can know what is truly in the hearts of men. For us, however, we can “judge” the actions of others based upon what we know to be “truth” through the standard of God’s Word. There is, however, a condition that Jesus puts forth. To judge clearly, one must be in a place in his life where he has overcome a similar issue in his own life (v.3-6) Secondly, one must have the leading the Holy Spirit and walk in the spirit of love (v.7-12). Thirdly, one must be living in such a way that he is following the standard of God (v.13-14). Finally, one must realize the “purpose” as to why God allows for brothers and sisters in Christ to “judge” one another (v.15-27).

God wants us to know the “truth.” As children of God, He has given us the ability to recognize what it true and what is falsehood. Jesus emphatically tells us “by their fruit you will recognize them.” Who is the “them?”--- Those who are producing fruit which is contrary to God’s truth. The Bible calls them “false prophets” (v.15). They are active in the church and live among the Body of Christ. They experience what we experience and look very much like “normal Christians,” expect for one thing: when it comes to the real fruit of their lives in the issues of living by the standard of God, something does not quite line up. (Next’s week’s blog will explore the “false prophets” in more detail.)

Judging in the Body of Christ is about revealing “truth” to a person’s life rather than condemning “sin.” We, however, get offended when someone says to us, “I’m concerned about the choices you are making in life as they are in contradiction to the Word of God.” As the brother or sister in Christ is not “judging” you but they are trying to ensure that your life is built as the “wise man’s” (v.24-25). The qualification that kept the man’s house from being destroyed was not because he had accepted “Jesus.” Read the passage again: “Therefore everyone who HEARS THESE WORDS of mine and PUTS THEM INTO PRACTICE is like a wise man” (v. 24). We’re too caught up in semantics and we play this “don’t judge me” card like Isaac Stern plays the fiddle. As we have accepted Christ, we have also accepted the fact that we are members of a Body larger than ourselves (see 1 Corinthians 12). Just like there are parts of your physical body that alerts you when something is “wrong,” so the Body of Christ has the ability to do the same. You be the judge: would you rather have a doctor tell you that you two weeks to life because you have a cancer in which you felt no pain until it was too late or would have you much rather preferred that your body alerted to you that something was wrong before the disease spread? In encourage you to read the many passages of the New Testament that tell us that as the Body of Christ, we are to keep one another accountable for the way that we live-----not to play “God,” but to keep one another from having an awful end to what should be the most glorious life!