Based on the study we’ve been having, here is my summary and conclusion. Don’t take my word for it. Go back and study the passages yourself. Maybe you’ll agree with me and maybe you won’t but at least you will have thought it through carefully.
1. Judging is more than issuing a verdict or condemning. It is sitting on the bench monitoring someone else’s life – scrutinizing and evaluating it.
2. Judging usually involves attributing motives. (In actuality we seldom really know motives.)
3.Judging does not take the growth process into consideration.
4. Judging often sets up personal standards as though they were God’s.
5. Judging even improperly evaluates what God’s standards are or what they mean.
6. Judging sets ourself up above the law. (See James 4)
7. Having strict personal standards is not judging.
8. Desiring holiness in my personal life is not judging.
9.Calling others to a life of holiness through teaching and preaching is not judging.
10. Having an opinion is not the same thing as judging.
11. Confronting a brother over sin or even disagreeing with them on an issue is not judging.
12. Judging usually involves a lack of forgiveness, a lack of mercy and a lack of pity.
13. Biblical judging usually focuses on discernment of the deed rather than judging the person.
Our effort to be obedient to Scripture in avoiding judging should not keep us from being involved in the lives of others. We are one body in Christ and we have a responsibility to one another to help, encourage and strengthen one another.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Friday, December 22, 2006
Discernment Required
Another passage where believers are told to judge is in I Corinthians 10:15 where Paul tells his readers to judge what he says. This goes along with Acts 17:11 where we are told that the Bereans were noble because they searched the scriptures daily to determine whether or not what they were being taught was true.
But you may be wondering if some sort of judging of people or circumstances isn’t required of us. If we aren’t supposed to judge, aren’t we supposed to be discerning? Matthew 18 discusses the importance of confronting a brother who has sinned. If a brother sins against us we are to go to the person and confront him. It’s my observation that most of the time when we are “judging” we have no intention of going to the person to help them. We usually just intend to be critical of them and perhaps talk about them. In this situation described here, someone has sinned against us. It is not a matter of judgment, it is a matter of being on the receiving end of some sinful behavior.
Galatians 6:1 tells us that if a brother is overtaken in a fault, the one who is spiritual should restore that one with a spirit of meekness being careful lest he be tempted in a similar way. Here again the goal is restoration and will require our humble assistance not our critical judging.
Another passage that needs some discussion is I Corinthians 2:15 which says, “But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.” Doesn’t this say that the spiritual person judges? The word for judge here is “anakrino” which means scrutinizes and investigates and discerns. The preceding verse uses the same word when it says that the things of the Spirit are spiritually discerned. So, yes, the Christian is to judge in the sense of being discerning. I Thess 5:21 says something similar when it says that we should test all things and hold fast to that which is good. The Christian is to discern behavior and weigh consequences and compare behavior to Scripture. And yet there is a subtle difference between this and the kind of judging which normally takes place.
In previous posts I tried to visualize improper judging as a person putting himself up on the bench to watch and listen to evidence with the intention of rendering a verdict. It is not only giving the verdict that is improper it is the attitude of being above another person as their inspector and judge. Being discerning is different. It’s difficult to explain, but I think you can see the difference.
Yet another passage brought up to show that we should judge is Philippians 1:9-10. It says, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,” The word for discernment is insight. The word for approve is to test or prove. So as our love increases, it should be a love that is insightful and discerning. It is not a love that just embraces everything and everybody. There is the need to test and prove things to make sure they are real. We as Christians are not to be undiscerning and careless, just accepting everything that comes along without any thought or insight.
Another passage which teaches the same thing is Heb 5:14 which says, “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Discernment is a good thing and our senses have to be exercised in order to become better at it.
The question becomes, then, how to do this without the judging that is forbidden. I would encourage you to ask yourself this question when you find yourself making judgments on another person’s behavior. Ask yourself this question, “If the kind of judging I’m doing now is biblical judgment or discernment, what would the forbidden judging me like in this case?” Sometimes our pride gets in the way and makes excuses for our improper judging because we somehow believe that we are more righteous or have it more together than the other person. However, if we can examine ourselves on this and see that we are merely making discerning observations and not being critical or “holier-than-thou”, then perhaps we’ve got it right.
In the final installment, I’ll give you my summary of all of this for whatever that’s worth.
But you may be wondering if some sort of judging of people or circumstances isn’t required of us. If we aren’t supposed to judge, aren’t we supposed to be discerning? Matthew 18 discusses the importance of confronting a brother who has sinned. If a brother sins against us we are to go to the person and confront him. It’s my observation that most of the time when we are “judging” we have no intention of going to the person to help them. We usually just intend to be critical of them and perhaps talk about them. In this situation described here, someone has sinned against us. It is not a matter of judgment, it is a matter of being on the receiving end of some sinful behavior.
Galatians 6:1 tells us that if a brother is overtaken in a fault, the one who is spiritual should restore that one with a spirit of meekness being careful lest he be tempted in a similar way. Here again the goal is restoration and will require our humble assistance not our critical judging.
Another passage that needs some discussion is I Corinthians 2:15 which says, “But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.” Doesn’t this say that the spiritual person judges? The word for judge here is “anakrino” which means scrutinizes and investigates and discerns. The preceding verse uses the same word when it says that the things of the Spirit are spiritually discerned. So, yes, the Christian is to judge in the sense of being discerning. I Thess 5:21 says something similar when it says that we should test all things and hold fast to that which is good. The Christian is to discern behavior and weigh consequences and compare behavior to Scripture. And yet there is a subtle difference between this and the kind of judging which normally takes place.
In previous posts I tried to visualize improper judging as a person putting himself up on the bench to watch and listen to evidence with the intention of rendering a verdict. It is not only giving the verdict that is improper it is the attitude of being above another person as their inspector and judge. Being discerning is different. It’s difficult to explain, but I think you can see the difference.
Yet another passage brought up to show that we should judge is Philippians 1:9-10. It says, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,” The word for discernment is insight. The word for approve is to test or prove. So as our love increases, it should be a love that is insightful and discerning. It is not a love that just embraces everything and everybody. There is the need to test and prove things to make sure they are real. We as Christians are not to be undiscerning and careless, just accepting everything that comes along without any thought or insight.
Another passage which teaches the same thing is Heb 5:14 which says, “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Discernment is a good thing and our senses have to be exercised in order to become better at it.
The question becomes, then, how to do this without the judging that is forbidden. I would encourage you to ask yourself this question when you find yourself making judgments on another person’s behavior. Ask yourself this question, “If the kind of judging I’m doing now is biblical judgment or discernment, what would the forbidden judging me like in this case?” Sometimes our pride gets in the way and makes excuses for our improper judging because we somehow believe that we are more righteous or have it more together than the other person. However, if we can examine ourselves on this and see that we are merely making discerning observations and not being critical or “holier-than-thou”, then perhaps we’ve got it right.
In the final installment, I’ll give you my summary of all of this for whatever that’s worth.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Formal Judging Encouraged
So having given consideration to the passages that tell us not to judge one another, let us turn to passages that tell us to judge. The thing that surprised me as I began to investigate this side of the issue is that there are very few verses that tell us to judge anything using the words “krino” or “katakrino”.
I Corinthians 5 tells us about the man in the church in Corinth who was living an immoral life with impunity as the church did nothing about it. Paul says that though he is absent, he has already judged this person. Then beginning in verse 11 he says, “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. 12For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.””
One thing I find interesting here is that Paul says that he doesn’t even judge those outside and yet we tend not only to judge one another but also those outside. But back to our main issue here. It seems to me that judging is advocated in this case as a formal responsibility given to the church. The difference then between this kind of judging and that which is forbidden in the passages we’ve already studied is that as individuals we are not to take up the judging responsibility, but as churches we have that corporate responsibility.
In I Corinthians 6, Paul tells believers that they should not go to court against one another. He then tells us that if there is actually a dispute that needs to be resolved, shouldn’t believers be able to handle the case? In other words, it should be possible for the church to find believers who have the wisdom to judge in such a case. This is another case where the church officially takes the role of judging. In this situation there is to be a formal hearing to help resolve a dispute.
I Corinthians 5 tells us about the man in the church in Corinth who was living an immoral life with impunity as the church did nothing about it. Paul says that though he is absent, he has already judged this person. Then beginning in verse 11 he says, “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. 12For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.””
One thing I find interesting here is that Paul says that he doesn’t even judge those outside and yet we tend not only to judge one another but also those outside. But back to our main issue here. It seems to me that judging is advocated in this case as a formal responsibility given to the church. The difference then between this kind of judging and that which is forbidden in the passages we’ve already studied is that as individuals we are not to take up the judging responsibility, but as churches we have that corporate responsibility.
In I Corinthians 6, Paul tells believers that they should not go to court against one another. He then tells us that if there is actually a dispute that needs to be resolved, shouldn’t believers be able to handle the case? In other words, it should be possible for the church to find believers who have the wisdom to judge in such a case. This is another case where the church officially takes the role of judging. In this situation there is to be a formal hearing to help resolve a dispute.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Don't Judge Before the Time
The following post represents the sixth installment in my study of the Bible’s teaching on judging one another.
Passage 5 -- I Corinthians 4
“Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. 3But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. 5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.”
In this passage Paul explains that it is a small thing to be judged by anyone. In fact he does not even judge himself. He rightly recognizes that it is the Lord who judges him. Paul has told us in other places not to judge and here he tells us that he isn’t influenced or bothered by those who would seek to judge him. He knows there is one person who is the judge and there is a judgment time coming but it is not now and his judges are not other people. Because we know this is true, he says, “Therefore judge nothing before the time…” There is a judgment but now is not the time and therefore judging should not be taking place. The Lord, the judge, is coming and He will bring everything to light and judge righteously. When we first hear that the Lord will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts, our response is often one of fear. But the amazing thing to me in this passage is that when the hidden things of darkness and the counsels of the heart are revealed, each one’s praise will come from God. Not only is this true for us it is also true for our brothers and sisters in Christ. So when that judgment day comes and the hidden things come to light, God is going praise that one who we have been judging! Won’t that be a turn of events? I hope you realize that I understand that at the judgment seat of Christ there will be loss of rewards and some will be saved so as by fire. But the passage before us clearly says that when the hidden things are revealed each one’s praise – (that is EACH one) will come from God.
I hope that is both an encouragement to you and a challenge not to be so critical and judgmental of others.
In the next several posts we’ll examine in what ways the Bible teaches us to be discerning and we’ll discuss how that differs from the judging that is forbidden in the Scriptures we have been examining.
Passage 5 -- I Corinthians 4
“Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. 3But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. 5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.”
In this passage Paul explains that it is a small thing to be judged by anyone. In fact he does not even judge himself. He rightly recognizes that it is the Lord who judges him. Paul has told us in other places not to judge and here he tells us that he isn’t influenced or bothered by those who would seek to judge him. He knows there is one person who is the judge and there is a judgment time coming but it is not now and his judges are not other people. Because we know this is true, he says, “Therefore judge nothing before the time…” There is a judgment but now is not the time and therefore judging should not be taking place. The Lord, the judge, is coming and He will bring everything to light and judge righteously. When we first hear that the Lord will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts, our response is often one of fear. But the amazing thing to me in this passage is that when the hidden things of darkness and the counsels of the heart are revealed, each one’s praise will come from God. Not only is this true for us it is also true for our brothers and sisters in Christ. So when that judgment day comes and the hidden things come to light, God is going praise that one who we have been judging! Won’t that be a turn of events? I hope you realize that I understand that at the judgment seat of Christ there will be loss of rewards and some will be saved so as by fire. But the passage before us clearly says that when the hidden things are revealed each one’s praise – (that is EACH one) will come from God.
I hope that is both an encouragement to you and a challenge not to be so critical and judgmental of others.
In the next several posts we’ll examine in what ways the Bible teaches us to be discerning and we’ll discuss how that differs from the judging that is forbidden in the Scriptures we have been examining.
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