What follows is the fifth installment in my study of what the Bible teaches about judging.
Passage 4: Romans 14
This passage deals with what I will call questionable activities. Some would say they are the “gray” areas. I’m not sure God has gray areas, but God hasn’t chosen to reveal everything about everything. In this chapter Paul deals with those who prefer to eat only vegetables in comparison with those who believe they are able to eat meat. Other believers treat every day as equal, while others believe some days are more special. Verse 3 and following says, “Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls.”
Neither the one who eats nor the one who does not eat is supposed to despise, judge or look down upon the other. Both are to respect the other. The passage assumes (vs 6) that people on both sides of these issues are doing what they do for the Lord and to please Him. They both are thankful for the provision God has made for them. They stand or fall before their own master not before anyone else. That master is God. The interesting thing is that the next phrase which I left out of the quote above says, “He will be made to stand because God is able to make Him stand.” God is at work to strengthen and hold up all of His children whether they are the eaters or the non-eaters. The verse doesn’t say that God is trying to hold them up, it says that they will stand because He is able to make them stand. We, on the other hand, are often trying to trip up and cause people to be discouraged and to faint along the way because of our criticism. This is completely opposite of what God is trying to do.
The passage goes on to remind us that each one of us will give an account of himself to God. We will not give account of others – just ourselves. Because of this, verse 13 tells us not to judge one another any longer, but to resolve this – not to put a stumbling block in our brother’s way. It couldn’t be any clearer. Don’t judge one another any more.
Here then is the goal. We are to edify and build up, not tear down and trip up. In order to be successful in this goal we are not to judge each other any more.
Many times our judging, especially in these areas of questionable activities, stems from the opinion that our view of things is the right one. We tend to compare people with ourselves. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:12 “For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”
Many of the standards we set up for ourselves may have been established for wholesome motives. We want to live holy lives and we want to grow and please Christ. However, we need to be careful even in this because as Colossians 2:13 – 23 tells us, the attempt to live a more stoic life (which I grant you is not the same as seeking to live a holy life) does nothing to restrain the flesh. Even though it doesn’t help, we not only attempt to live that way ourselves, but try to impose those standards on others. No wonder Paul told the Colossians, “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” (Col 2:16, 17)
Now if you have begun to feel a drift toward liberalism as you have been reading this, go back to my introduction in the first post. God expects us to have standards and to be discerning. However, He is forbidding something here. The question we need to ask our self is this, “If the kind of discernment and critical analysis that is standard practice in my life is right and commanded by God, what exactly is He forbidding in these passages?” He is forbidding something. Stay tuned.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Monday, November 20, 2006
No Evil Speaking - James 4:11
What follows is the fourth installment in my study of what the Bible teaches about judging.
Passage 3: James 4:11
“Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?”
Here the admonition is to not speak evil of one another. The next sentence puts judging and speaking evil of another in the same category. Even though we may not understand this sentence, it is very clear that the person who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. Doing so makes one a judge of the law and thus above the law. In our relationships with one another no one is above another. None of us is on the judicial bench investigating and evaluating another person’s life. The passage before us teaches us that there is one Lawgiver – God. Lifting ourselves above another and thus above the law is equivalent to putting ourselves on an equal footing with God. Is that really where we want to be? He is the one who is able to save or to destroy. Therefore who are we to judge one another?
James, almost as a passing comment says in 5:9, “Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold the judge is standing at the door.” What a picture. Here we are grumbling against our brother and the true Judge of the universe knocks on the door. He is the one who has the true power to condemn or justify. We started this discussion with the word condemn. Here we see that just grumbling against one another is dangerous. Why, because it may bring the condemnation of the judge. Shouldn’t we be making sure our behavior will be pleasing to Him rather than lifting ourselves up to God’s level and finding ourselves condemned by Him?
Passage 3: James 4:11
“Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?”
Here the admonition is to not speak evil of one another. The next sentence puts judging and speaking evil of another in the same category. Even though we may not understand this sentence, it is very clear that the person who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. Doing so makes one a judge of the law and thus above the law. In our relationships with one another no one is above another. None of us is on the judicial bench investigating and evaluating another person’s life. The passage before us teaches us that there is one Lawgiver – God. Lifting ourselves above another and thus above the law is equivalent to putting ourselves on an equal footing with God. Is that really where we want to be? He is the one who is able to save or to destroy. Therefore who are we to judge one another?
James, almost as a passing comment says in 5:9, “Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold the judge is standing at the door.” What a picture. Here we are grumbling against our brother and the true Judge of the universe knocks on the door. He is the one who has the true power to condemn or justify. We started this discussion with the word condemn. Here we see that just grumbling against one another is dangerous. Why, because it may bring the condemnation of the judge. Shouldn’t we be making sure our behavior will be pleasing to Him rather than lifting ourselves up to God’s level and finding ourselves condemned by Him?
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Judge not, that you be not judged
What follows is the third installment in my study of the Biblical teaching on judging.
Passage 2: Matthew 7:1
In this passage God tells us that whatever measure we use in judging others will be used in judging us. Therefore, we are to be careful to make sure that the plank is out of our own eye before working on the speck in our brother’s eye.
Here’s what the passage says in the NKJV: “1“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2“For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4“Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5“Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
The very first words are “Judge not.” Many of us cringe when we hear someone say this because it usually means that he is trying to get away with something and doesn’t want us to tell him where he is wrong. The reason not to judge is so that we would not be judged because whatever measure we use to evaluate others is the same measure that will be used to evaluate us. At first we might conclude that that would be fair, after all we don’t do the kind of things the other person does. However we need to remember what we learned in the last passage – we who judge do the same things. It might not be the same exact thing, but it is just as sinful in God’s sight.
In this passage we also learn that it is possible to help a brother with an issue in his life, but we have to have enough sensitivity to know that we may have something that is a hindrance in our own life and this should be taken care of before we presume to be able to help another. Galatians 6:1 tells us that if our brother is overtaken in a fault, those who are spiritual should restore such a person, but with care, knowing that we may be tempted and fall in the same way. Any attempt at helping another to see the sins or faults in his life must be coupled with a thorough examination of our own life along with a large portion of humility.
Passage 2: Matthew 7:1
In this passage God tells us that whatever measure we use in judging others will be used in judging us. Therefore, we are to be careful to make sure that the plank is out of our own eye before working on the speck in our brother’s eye.
Here’s what the passage says in the NKJV: “1“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2“For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4“Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5“Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
The very first words are “Judge not.” Many of us cringe when we hear someone say this because it usually means that he is trying to get away with something and doesn’t want us to tell him where he is wrong. The reason not to judge is so that we would not be judged because whatever measure we use to evaluate others is the same measure that will be used to evaluate us. At first we might conclude that that would be fair, after all we don’t do the kind of things the other person does. However we need to remember what we learned in the last passage – we who judge do the same things. It might not be the same exact thing, but it is just as sinful in God’s sight.
In this passage we also learn that it is possible to help a brother with an issue in his life, but we have to have enough sensitivity to know that we may have something that is a hindrance in our own life and this should be taken care of before we presume to be able to help another. Galatians 6:1 tells us that if our brother is overtaken in a fault, those who are spiritual should restore such a person, but with care, knowing that we may be tempted and fall in the same way. Any attempt at helping another to see the sins or faults in his life must be coupled with a thorough examination of our own life along with a large portion of humility.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Judging - Passage 1
What follows is the second installment of our series on judging.
Passage 1: Romans 1:28-2:1
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. 1Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” (NKJV)
The first thing to notice here is that the death penalty is appropriate for all of these sins, not just the ones that we deem more serious. The Pharisees rightly understood that the law of God requires death for adultery, although their motive for bringing her to Jesus was not justice, but tripping up our Lord. What the Pharisees failed to understand is that their sins were also worthy of death. Thus we understand from this passage that if we judge another, we are inexcusable because we do the same things. At first I rebelled against this thought because I figured that I was a pretty good guy. But this passage exposes us for what we are – sinners under judgment of death just like the person we judge.
James teaches the same thing in his book, chapter 2. He tells his readers that prejudice against the poor and in favor of the rich is wrong. He says, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 9but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” So we understand that showing partiality is wrong. But not that wrong…right? Look at verses 10-13: “10For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
What I had never seen before is that not only is this passage teaching us not to show favoritism, it is also teaching us that showing favoritism makes us a law-breaker and thus guilty of the whole thing. Thus we are inexcusable as we judge others because we are guilty of the same thing. There must be mercy, rather than judgment. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
My conclusion from this passage then is that it is not our place to judge because we are guilty of law breaking the same as anyone else.
Passage 1: Romans 1:28-2:1
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. 1Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” (NKJV)
The first thing to notice here is that the death penalty is appropriate for all of these sins, not just the ones that we deem more serious. The Pharisees rightly understood that the law of God requires death for adultery, although their motive for bringing her to Jesus was not justice, but tripping up our Lord. What the Pharisees failed to understand is that their sins were also worthy of death. Thus we understand from this passage that if we judge another, we are inexcusable because we do the same things. At first I rebelled against this thought because I figured that I was a pretty good guy. But this passage exposes us for what we are – sinners under judgment of death just like the person we judge.
James teaches the same thing in his book, chapter 2. He tells his readers that prejudice against the poor and in favor of the rich is wrong. He says, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 9but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” So we understand that showing partiality is wrong. But not that wrong…right? Look at verses 10-13: “10For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
What I had never seen before is that not only is this passage teaching us not to show favoritism, it is also teaching us that showing favoritism makes us a law-breaker and thus guilty of the whole thing. Thus we are inexcusable as we judge others because we are guilty of the same thing. There must be mercy, rather than judgment. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
My conclusion from this passage then is that it is not our place to judge because we are guilty of law breaking the same as anyone else.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Christians and Judging
In John 8 we read about the incident where the scribes and Pharisees bring to Jesus a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. If you are not familiar with this story, I encourage you to read it before continuing. The Jews were trying to trap Jesus by asking him whether he agreed with the law that required that she be stoned to death. Without answering, Jesus stooped down a couple of times to write in the dirt and as He did so told them that the person who was without sin should cast the first stone. Upon standing up, Jesus saw that not one of the accusers remained. Jesus asked if anyone had condemned her. After hearing that no one had, Jesus said that He did not condemn her either and then told her to go and sin no more.
Reading this story in preparation for a Sunday School lesson, I began to wonder what “condemnation” means and how it compares to the “judging” that we do. I decided to do a miniseries on this topic and the remainder of this document is the result of that study.
Whenever a discussion of the Scriptures that forbid judging occurs among conservative Christians, some immediately wonder if it is a sign of becoming liberal. As you read through this material, you may have the same thought. Another reaction you may have is that whatever judging means, you’re not doing it because the kind of discernment you have is required by Scripture or at least encouraged there. As you try to sort through this in your own mind, I ask that you try to be open to what Scripture teaches about this topic and then work out in your own life how to be a holy, discerning Christian while at the same time being obedient to God by not judging others.
The word for condemn that Jesus used is the Greek word “katakrino” which means to give judgment against, pass sentence upon. This word is also used in Romans 8:3 where Paul writes that God judged sin in the flesh. The word used more generally for judging is “krino”. (You can see that the word krino is contained in the word katakrino.) This word at its root means to separate, select or choose. Thus it means to distinguish. Some commentators define it to mean pronounce judgment, to try, condemn or punish.
It seems that katakrino is more the sentencing phase. The actual pronouncement of the decision of a court, whereas krino is more the judging process itself. Katakrino is a stronger word than krino. Jesus did not pronounce sentence on this woman. We are told not to hold the trial in the first place.
In the next few posts we will investigate passages that speak to us about krino – judging.
Reading this story in preparation for a Sunday School lesson, I began to wonder what “condemnation” means and how it compares to the “judging” that we do. I decided to do a miniseries on this topic and the remainder of this document is the result of that study.
Whenever a discussion of the Scriptures that forbid judging occurs among conservative Christians, some immediately wonder if it is a sign of becoming liberal. As you read through this material, you may have the same thought. Another reaction you may have is that whatever judging means, you’re not doing it because the kind of discernment you have is required by Scripture or at least encouraged there. As you try to sort through this in your own mind, I ask that you try to be open to what Scripture teaches about this topic and then work out in your own life how to be a holy, discerning Christian while at the same time being obedient to God by not judging others.
The word for condemn that Jesus used is the Greek word “katakrino” which means to give judgment against, pass sentence upon. This word is also used in Romans 8:3 where Paul writes that God judged sin in the flesh. The word used more generally for judging is “krino”. (You can see that the word krino is contained in the word katakrino.) This word at its root means to separate, select or choose. Thus it means to distinguish. Some commentators define it to mean pronounce judgment, to try, condemn or punish.
It seems that katakrino is more the sentencing phase. The actual pronouncement of the decision of a court, whereas krino is more the judging process itself. Katakrino is a stronger word than krino. Jesus did not pronounce sentence on this woman. We are told not to hold the trial in the first place.
In the next few posts we will investigate passages that speak to us about krino – judging.
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