Are Christians forbidden to judge? They are indeed forbidden to do only what Christ can do and that is determining the fate of the individual as to hell or heaven. John 5:24 says, "...he who hears my word and believes in Him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment" (NKJV). Christians are only subject to the bema or tribunal of Christ and not the Great White Throne Judgment at the last day. That is only the destiny of the lost. As believers we will not be judged for our sins, but only our works are put through the fire to see if they are worthy of reward--some will burn like wood, hay, and straw.
Paul urges the church to judge those inside the church (1 Cor. 5:12 says, "...Do you not judge those who are inside [the church]?") if they are living in sin, a little sin "in the camp" will be like leaven to the whole body. "But those who are outside God judges." This is the issue of church discipline which is not really practiced much today in the evangelical church. Jesus said, "When you judge, judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24). The measure we judge will be returned to us likewise ("Judge not, lest you be judged' (Mat. 7:1); therefore, it is wise to be careful in judgment (if we don't judge between true and false teachers where would we be?). Pope Francis said today, "Who am I to judge?" He is shirking his responsibility as a leader in the church and he will be responsible for this stand. He was referring to homosexual priests. The Bible condemns homosexuality; it is not a matter of judging but of preaching the Word of God. The prophets of old were known for denouncing sin and this is what is lacking in our churches today--God demands true repentance.
We should fear the government when we disobey a law not only for conscience sake but also for punishment--God has ordained government as a means of restraint of evil. If you're a believer in Christ and have never been judged by a fellow Christian, you haven't lived! We all face this at times and learn to take the beam out of our own eye before removing the speck from our brother's eye.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
One should define judging righteously and not so: If I say you smoke too much (like saying one pack is okay but two packs is bad) and that God condemns your smoking that is wrong, because the Bible doesn't directly forbid smoking (it is only a matter of bad habit, wasting money and health issues); but if I say you must repent of your fornication because God condemns it I am right to point this out (it is the Bible that judges and not me--I am only going by what the Bible says). We cannot discern the spiritual state of an individual Christian or someone's ultimate fate, but this is in God's hands.
ReplyDeleteDon't you know that we shall judge angels? We shouldn't judge anything before the time either. We should refrain judgment on disputable matters and not to be dogmatic on negotiable doctrines that are not the main thing--keep the main thing the main thing! We are not to look down or gloat on our brethren but to hold them in high esteem as fellow believers. Augustine said, "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials liberty; in all things, charity."
ReplyDeleteThis is a complex topic, especially in a post modern world. For most people today, you are wrongly judging if you make any kind of absolute statement affecting morality. This means
ReplyDeleteEg, that anything like "divorce is wrong" or "being drunk is wrong" or polygamy is wrong" are all condemned as judging. This is obviously unbiblical.
But there are other kinds of judging by christians that are also wrong. The two kinds I have observed most often are prejudging and motive judging. Prejudging includes but is not limited to things like rascism and bigotry, but it also covers christians who make hasty judgments without first obtaining the facts. An example might be condemning a woman for leaving her husband without knowing she was being abused.
I also see frequently judging of motives. Except in the case of an admission, you simply cannot know what is in other persons heart. An example would be judging a persons preaching by asserting he just loves being in the limelight. Any attempt to judge on the basis of assumed motives is not only wrong but damaging , even sometimes beyond repair. This needs to stop..