The issue of judgment is a very pertinent issue to the Christian
because so often we are portrayed as "judgmental"
and this is meant to say we are negative evil minded people.
It never seems to dawn on the person saying that that they
are engaging in judgment by making their harsh pronouncement!
In trying to stave off this criticism many of us rush to
say that "we don't judge only Jesus judges!" We
then quote the Scriptures that say we are not to judge presumptuously
in order to substantiate our claim.
Recently this came up on one of our programs and a
listener wrote to us the following letter:..
Hello,
I am writing about the program Spiritual Junk Food on www.audiocentral.com
. At about 8:55 in the program, you mention that we are to
judge with righteous judgment, not according to appearances.
I'll assume you're referring to John7:24 which says "Do
not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous
judgment." The next thing you say on the program is that
we are to judge according to what we can see. Do you see the
contradiction yet? Read Matthew 7:1. We are commanded not
to judge. God sits on the judgment seat alone. Please do not
continue to take John 7:24 out of the context of the passage,
and out of the context of the Bible. This passage does not
grant you the authority to judge anyone. I do not disagree
with the premises on this program, discernment is in fact
a spiritual principle we need to exercise, and a lot of "Christian"
education and Sunday schooling is not meeting the requirements
set by God's Word. May the Lord Bless you as you seek His
face and study His Word, -R. M.
Our Response Follows:
Dear Listener,
Thank you for taking the time to write and to reprove us.
I am sending a copy of your letter to Joel Griffith as he
may wish to respond as well.
I think part of the problem lies in the ambiguities of the
English language as well as the time constraints of a fast
paced radio program that allows for only a modicum of definition.
The word "judge" is used in various ways in our
culture. It can mean to discern between right and wrong or
it can mean to decide what punishment ought to be imposed
on a criminal or it can mean to presume to know the heart
of another.
The Bible tells us we are indeed supposed to judge! We are
to judge fellow believers (elders are supposed to do this)
(1 Corinthians 5:12;14:29). In the future we shall judge the
whole World (see 1 Corinthians 6:2) and even Angels! (see
1 Corinthians 6:3). The Apostle Paul instructed the Elders
of the church at Corinth to judge a man guilty because he
was seen living with his father's wife (his stepmother) and
to turn him over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh
(death/illness).
Listener, you judged the church by saying "a lot of
"Christian" education and Sunday schooling is not
meeting the requirements set by God's Word." This is
true and an indictment of whoever is publishing the ungodly
stuff you refer to.
Biblically, we are also called to judge between who is a
Christian and who isn't (see 1 Corinthians 5:10). This means
we have to be able to decide if someone is by definition,
at any given moment of time (not finally), on their way to
hell or not! How do I know that?
2 Corinthians 6:14 tells us that we are not to be unequally
yoked with unbelievers in marriage. If we can't judge between
who is saved and who isn't, then we can't get married. Obviously
judging or discerning takes time and effort but it must, and
should, be done.
Man looks upon the outward appearance but God looks at the
heart (see 1 Samuel 16:7). This means that we must judge others
by what we "see" which is not the same as by "outward
appearance". What does the Scripture say about this?
Deuteronomy 17:6;19:15, Matthew 18:16; 2 Corinthians 13:1
and Hebrews 10:28 all speak of judging according to what human
beings have "seen". It is the law of witnesses upon
which our whole penal/judicial system is based.
We don't dare judge according to what things look like but
what actually exists. If someone fails to invite you to a
gathering it is judging wrongfully to assume that their motives
in their hearts were bad. It would be wrong to think they
harbor hatred inside toward you, or that they didn't invite
you because they envied you, or some other unlovely motive.
"Love believes all things" (1 Corinthians 13) and
therefore, you should put the best most loving spin on their
actions. You should assume about them what you would want
them to assume about you (Matthew 7:12) should you fail to
invite them to something. You shouldn't feel slighted but
choose to believe that it was just a human error caused by
the frailty of their fallen memories and that you were simply,
without malice, forgotten. Too often humans infringe on the
divine prerogative of God by assuming they know what someone
else is thinking and what motivates them. If you insist on
putting a bad motive on them and treating them accordingly,
you are violating "judge not lest you be judged. and
are judging "before the time" (see1 Co.4:5) You
must "judge not according to the appearance but with
righteous judgment" (John 7:24).
This doesn't mean that we are left without a clue about what
goes on inside of people. The murderers of the Christian martyrs
of Columbine High School showed their malicious intent by
their deeds and their words. We can look into their hearts
only a little by what the witnesses said about them. These
evil ones asked if the people believed on the Lord Jesus Christ
and then shot them dead! We can properly judge that these
two murderers were full of hate for Christians. "By their
fruits ye shall know them" and the produce of their lives
was rotten! Again, we can only tentatively draw these partial
conclusions based upon testimony of "two or three witnesses."
God alone knows the full story.
God alone can finally, and with total authority, pronounce
eternal damnation on a soul. We can only look upon the outward
appearance and draw conclusions based on witnesses and the
fruit of people's lives.
Nobody should presume they know that they are 100% certain
that anyone else is in hell. However, I would rationally draw
the conclusion that Adolf Hitler and the two murderers in
Columbine are tucked away in eternal torment because they
killed others and themselves. 1 John 3:15 tells us that "no
murderer has eternal life abiding in him." If their last
fruit displayed on earth was to murder themselves then it
is highly likely they are in the place of torments right now!
I am 99% sure of this. It is only my fallible opinion and
I could be wrong. God will decide finally at the Great White
throne!
I hope this throws better light on where we are coming from.
I want to thank you again for writing and for the encouragement
at the end of your letter. By the way, where do you hear the
program at -what state? May God bless you.
In His Service Gladly, -Kevin
Presumptuous judging is a sin but to exercise discerning,
Bible based judgment, is a command of God. We must avoid the
former but redouble our efforts in doing the latter. Our ministry
is here, not only to reach the lost, but to help the church
do just that!
I believe the further dialogue with this person is worth
looking at. He brings up a very popular concept that judgment
is synonymous with Phariseeism. I think this is often thought
because of the Pharisees' harsh treatment/judgment of Jesus
and the woman caught in adultery. Actually, Jesus said the
sin of Phariseeism is hypocrisy in Luke 12:1. Hypocrisy arises
from the mistaken and deadly notion that we are righteous
enough for God to accept us on our own merits. If we are deluded
into that proposition then we have a false security before
God. We demean the law of God while pretending to fulfill
it.
His Next Letter To Us Follows:
Hello,
Thank you for replying, and what a lengthy reply it was!
I understand that there are different definitions of judgement
in the english language, and thank you for pointing that out.
I appreciate your extended amount of Biblical reference to
your explaination. In general, I agree with you.
There are a couple of Biblical principles that are very important.
The Parisees (sic) were in a lot of trouble when Jesus came
around, and modern Pharisees will be in a lot of trouble when
He comes again. I do not want to be counted among them. Your
arguements are sound, but please strive to avoid the Parisitical
(sic) trap. Love is the primary focus of Jesus, and should
be of his diciples. A judgemental heart toward heathens does
not show love, mercy, or compassion.
May the Lord Bless You,
R. M.
P.S. James 4:11, and the surrounding context, convince me
to refrain from judgement. Galatians 6:1 causes me to look
to myself first, and seek to be humble, meek, and gentle before
attempting to restore a tresspassing brother.
Our Second Response Follows:
Dear R.M.,
You say, "A judgemental heart toward heathens does not
show love, mercy, or compassion." The most unloving and
noncompassionate thing to do to a heathen is to condone his
sin and give him the impression that God will not punish him
in the severest way (Hell) if he does not repent of his attitude
toward Christ. If he believes he needs a Savior (fear of God's
wrath) and trusts Christ, God will give him a new heart that
will desire righteousness. Paul said, "Knowing the terror
of the Lord, we persuade men..." 2 Corinthians 5:11.
I agree in judging temporal matters that it is better to
err on the side of mercy than condemnation, however, the world
must see the eternal Gospel against the proper background
of bad news before they can understand that it is good news.
Context is everything. If you tell some heathen that Jesus
died for them they say "Of course He did because I'm
worth it". We have advertisements from this generation
that say, "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!"
Jesus says that the world and its individuals are already
damned or condemned (see John 3:18) so when we say that they
are damned or condemned, we are merely reiterating what our
Lord has already spoken. When we speak out against the outrages
of leaders in the public eye and the common sins of the public
at large we are merely following the example set by John the
Baptist and all the prophets. Sin must be spoken against and
exposed. Ephesians 5:11 says "And have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove
them ("expose them" in the NASV).
You write: "Galatians 6:1 causes me to look to myself
first, and seek to be humble, meek, and gentle before attempting
to restore a trespassing brother."
That is right on target when dealing personally, on a one
on one basis, with a brother you know. This is especially
true if the offense was against you personally. The last thing
a repentant, sorrowful and spiritually wounded (albeit by
his own sin) brother needs is a harsh "holier than thou"
attitude. Our righteousness is not based on our own merits
but is a gift (Romans 5:17,18). This means we have nothing
to boast about or "lord over" a brother who has
sinned.
Even in public we should all acknowledge our fallen weaknesses
and total dependence on the Lord for any virtue found in us
(2 Corinthians 12:9). "There but for the grace of God
go I etc..." This is why on our radio program you will
hear these kinds of acknowledgments from time to time.
However, meekness and gentleness, though they sound soft
and feminine, are not antithetical to manly strength and power.
They are merely the marks of a strong man who can afford to
be gentle because he knows the truth about himself in relationship
to his Creator. They are not always Biblically exhibited in
accord with modern, humanistically influenced, feminized standards
of "meekness." When Jesus and Paul offered their
strong rhetorical rebukes ("you snakes" in Matthew
12:34 by Jesus and "I could wish that those who trouble
you would cut themselves off [castrate themselves]" in
Galatians 5:12 by Paul) they were not guilty of being without
meekness. Proverb 15:23 and 25:11 speaks of a word that is
spoken in "due season" or one that is "fitly
spoken" as being something desirable. There are times
for soft, smooth, "nice" and congenial talk and
there are times for rough rebuke and challenge which may include
sarcasm of the kind used by Elijah (1 Kings18:27), Micaiah
(1 Kings 22:8-28), Paul and Jesus as already alluded to. None
of this negates meekness. Gentleness is reserved for repentant
brothers we deal with in private not those we are addressing
publicly if their error was publicly disseminated.
In Philippians 3:17 we are commanded by the Holy Spirit to
follow the example of the Apostle Paul in specific. It behooves
us then to check out just what his example was. Paul rebuked
Peter in front of everyone (see Gal. 2:14) because it was
the right thing to do as Peter's sin affected them all. He
was not being Pharisaical, or unkind, in doing so. Paul used
the sharpest of language when dealing with so-called "brothers"
who were sinning publicly. This is according to his Apostolic
admonition in Titus 1:13 that says "For this reason reprove
them severely so that they may be sound in the faith."
1 Tim. 5:20 "Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the
presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of
sinning." Paul publicly castigated for all time certain
individuals: "Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm
the Lord will repay him according to his deeds." (2 Timothy
4:14) "...their talk (false teaching) will spread like
gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have
gone astray from the truth..." (2 Timothy 2:17,18) and
In 1 Timothy 1:20 he said that "Hymenaeus and Alexander
were handed over to Satan so they will be taught not to blaspheme."
This is tough stuff! On our program we have yet to ask people
to pray that certain individuals be handed over to Satan for
the destruction of their flesh. Though, considering the evil
havoc some people wreak in the lives of others, it is certainly
worth contemplating!
Your words about avoiding the leaven of the Pharisees are
well taken. The inheritors of the basic Theology of the Pharisees
are the Christians. We are in agreement with them on basic
cosmology. They were supernaturalists as are we. They believed
in righteous living as do we and it is this very principle
that can give rise to the leaven. It is very appropriate that
we are warned about them because we are so similar and can,
therefore, fall into the same trap that they did.
The leaven of the Pharisees is that of pride and the mistaken
notion that "works righteousness" can save us, which
ultimately leads to hypocrisy. To boast that you are righteous
because your works, or your great faith before God, justifies
you is a lie as both are a gift from Him and not derived from
anything meritorious in you (Ephesians 2:8,9). When you boast
that it is because of your own righteousness that you have
a right standing before God and then sin (all sin) you are
a hypocrite! All of our "righteousness" are filthy
rags before God (Isaiah 54:6 & Romans 3:10).
Again, I hope this helps you understand better where we are
coming from. Where do you hear the program from?
In His Service Gladly,
Rev. Kevin S. Johnson
I hope all who read this will endeavor to avoid the real leaven
of the Pharisees while honing their skills of critical thought
with sober and spiritual judgment. Love must be our aim and
that outgoing concern must urge us ever onward in our quest
for truth based judgment. "And
ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.
I am the way, the truth and the life no man cometh unto the
Father but by me" -Jesus Christ (John
8:32 and 14:6).
Mount Carmel Outreach
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