Christians and Judgment

Christians and Judgment 1) Didn’t Jesus say, “Judge not”? MAT 7:1-5 a) This is often used to condemn people, especially Christians, for judging others. b) Jesus is condemning hypocritical judgment (i.e. judging in others what you do not judge in yourself). i) mote: 1.a A particle of dust; esp. one of the innumerable minute specks seen floating in the sunbeam; an irritating particle in the eye or throat. ii) a mote in the eye: often fig. (a) with allusion to Matt. vii. 3, a relatively trifling fault observed in another person by one who ignores a greater fault of his own (cf. beam n.1 3 c); †(b) a cause of irritation or annoyance. iii) beam: 3.a A large piece of squared timber, long in proportion to its breadth and thickness, such as is used in house- or ship-building, where beams form important parts of the structure: originally, the squared timber of a whole tree, but now used without any such restriction. The ordinary current sense. iv) 3.c fig., esp. with allusion to the figure of the mote and the beam (Matt. vii. 3). c) MAT 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. d) Jesus also said “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” JOH 7:24; LEV 19:15 e) Righteous judgment is in accord with what is right, which God determines. PSA 19:9 2) Judgment itself is not wrong. Unrighteous judgment is wrong. a) Sinful man has a problem with a righteous God who establishes right and wrong, good and evil, thou shalt, and thou shalt not. i) Man by nature wants to be his own god and make his own rules to suit himself. EPH 2:1-3 (the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience) c/w ISA 14:12-14 (I will be like the most High) ii) Man rejects God’s truth and righteousness. ROM 1:18 (hold the truth in unrighteousness) c/w ROM 1:32 (knowing the judgment of God) b) People therefore don’t like it when someone tells them they should or should not be doing something because God has said so. i) “Don’t judge me” is a common response. ii) ACT 7:27 But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? iii) Men don’t like the light of the truth exposing their evil deeds. JOH 3:19 c) People who condemn judgment are making a judgment and thus condemn themselves. 3) Judgment is a fundamental part of rational thought. a) judgment 8. a. The faculty of judging; ability to form an opinion; that function of the mind whereby it arrives at a notion of anything; the critical faculty; discernment. b) Without judgment you cannot think properly. c) It is judgment that enables you to discern the difference between things. i) You do this all the time in the normal course of life. For example, when you look at a square and a circle side by side, you know they are essentially different. ii) When you look at two circles of different sizes, you know they are both circles (i.e. they are the same kind of thing) but they differ in size. iii) Try putting a square peg in a round hole. It does not fit properly. iv) Even babies figure this out pretty early. d) If you cannot or do not discern the difference between things you are by definition insane. i) insane: 1. Of persons: Not of sound mind, mad, mentally deranged. Also of the mind: Unsound. ii) Nobody in their right mind thinks that a square and a circle are the same. iii) Squares and circles are simple examples. Consider some others: (1) Male and female GEN 1:27 (2) Holy and profane EZE 44:23-24 (3) Good and evil ISA 5:20 (4) Grace and works ROM 11:6 (5) Natural and spiritual 1CO 15:44 (6) Temporal and eternal 2CO 4:18 (7) Truth and lies JOH 8:44 (8) Creature and creator ROM 1:25 e) The devil wants to corrupt your thinking to draw you away from the one true and living God to worship him instead. He’s so insane that he even tried to convince God himself to worship him. MAT 4:8-9 i) He denies what is true. This is irrational. GEN 3:1-5 ii) God’s word is truth. JOH 17:17; PSA 119:151,160 iii) God’s judgments are true and righteous. PSA 19:9 4) It is precisely the lack of judgment that leads to wickedness. ISA 1:21-27; ISA 59:14-15 a) Judgment and righteousness belong together. LEV 19:15; PSA 94:15; JER 4:2; JER 9:24; b) Corruption in judgment increases wickedness. ISA 5:23 c) Judgment leads to righteousness which leads to peace. ISA 32:16-17; PSA 106:30- 31 5) The kingdom of God is established with judgment and justice. ISA 9:7; 1PE 4:17 a) The church survives by judgment; it is destroyed by the lack of judgment. b) The church is not immune to false doctrine, false teachers and wickedness cropping up in its midst. 2PE 2:1-2; 2TI 4:3 c) The church is responsible to uphold the truth. 1TI 3:15 i) This means distinguishing between truth and lies, sound doctrine and false doctrine. ii) This means judging heretics. TIT 3:10 iii) This means judging sinners in its midst, to put them away. 1CO 5:3-4,12-13 d) This preserves the purity, unity and peace of the church. 1CO 1:10; EPH 4:3-6; PSA 133:1 i) Failure to do so will result in the destruction of the church. REV 2:1-5 ii) A church that does not execute judgment is no more than a social club to satisfy the carnal pleasures of man. e) God delights in judgment and we should too. JER 9:24; PRO 21:15; PSA 96:11-13