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Should Christians Judge?
Occasionally, we receive correspondence from individuals (moral relativists) standing in "judgment" over our liberty "in Christ" and our obligation to exercise judgment and discernment. Curiously, these folks fail to see the hypocrisy of their position--that of engaging in the very behavior which they claim is unacceptable. Typically, they quote Matthew 7:1 "Judge not, that ye be not judged" out of context, with hopes of intimidating those who would seek to discern truth from error. Consider the following thoughts written by Miles J. Stanford.
The
terms "judge," or "judgment," are used in different ways in the Word of God;
their meanings and usage are mainly governed by the context in which they are
found.
When they mean to condemn, to sentence, or to punish, man
[individually] is to leave that prerogative with God. "Vengeance is
mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" (Romans 12:19). [God has
established government--civil authority--as His earthly delegated
representative/agent to administer justice upon evildoers. See
Romans 13:1-7.
At other times the
words mean to distinguish, to decide, to determine, to conclude, to try, to
think, and to call into question. This is what God would have believers do
in love, especially as to whether or not preaching and teaching is true or false
to His Word. Paul wrote, "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet
more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that
are excellent" (Philippians 1:9,10).
The Lord Jesus both warns
and commands to "Beware of false prophets" (Matthew 7:15).
We could not "beware," or know a false prophet unless we exercised
true judgment. For that we are given the correct standard:
"To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to
this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).
There are realms in which the believer is generally not to judge. In
most instances he is not to judge whether or not a person is saved, if he
professes to be scripturally* born again.
"The Lord knoweth them that are his" (2 Timothy 2:19).
Nor are we to judge another's motives. Only God can see into the heart
and know the motives that underlie actions. (1 Corinthians 4:1-5)
[However, Scripture does allow for some exceptions--e.g. Philippians
1:15-18].
And we are not to judge believers concerning the
eating of certain kinds of foods or drink, or keeping certain days, etc.
(Romans 14; 1 Corinthians 10:23-33; and Colossians 2:16,17)
All too many believers remain immature or are actually drawn into error
because they seek to exercise love apart from Scripture-guided discernment and
judgment. Christians who are mature, of "full age," are
"those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good
and evil" (Hebrews 5:14).
One of the reasons for the Church being
in such a sickly condition today is that believers have not obeyed the commands
of God's Word to judge error. "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark
them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye
have learned, and avoid them" (Romans 16:17).
The false teachers make the "divisions," and not those who protest
against their errors.
An often misapplied Scripture is
"Judge not" (Matthew 7:1). This is a command against
hypocritical judgment, and is not directed to those who in love and
sincerity discern whether a teacher or teaching is true or false to the Word.
"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what
judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall
be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy
brother's eye, but considereth not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how
wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and,
behold, a beam is in thine own eye. 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" (Matthew 7:1-5).
Actually, the last statement
of this Scripture commands sincere judgment: "then shalt thou see clearly
to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." We are not to
forget nor seek to avoid the fact that our Lord Jesus commanded us to
"judge righteous judgment." He commended one,
"Thou hast rightly judged." He asked others,
"Why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?" (John 7:24;
Luke 7:43; 12:57). Paul wrote, "I speak as to wise men;
judge ye what I say." Again, "He that is spiritual judgeth
all things" (1 Corinthians 10:15; 2:15).
It is all too common and easy for Christians
to assume a critical and censorious attitude toward those who do not share their
opinions about matters other than those which have to do with Bible doctrine
and moral practice. But it is our privilege and duty to do all we
can to encourage their spiritual growth. We are to love and pray for one
another, and to consider ourselves lest we be tempted. The safest and most
profitable thing to do is to judge ourselves.
"For if we would judge ourselves, we should not
be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened (child trained) of the Lord,
that we should not be condemned with the world" (1 Corinthians 11:31,32).
It will make all the difference if we judge our own faults as uncharitably
as we do the faults of others; and judge the failings of others as charitably as
we do our own!
* Mr. Stanford's statement was written several decades ago, when the profession to be "scripturally born again" was largely if not exclusively used in fundamentalist circles. Accordingly, the exercise of discernment was conditioned upon a "scriptural" profession. Miles never intended to convey the idea that we can never tell who are true and false Christians. Today, the term "born again" has been prostituted and carries numerous meanings. Believers have both the right and the obligation to judge when the term is abused or the context is not scriptural. Dan R. Smedra
Further comments by Dan R. Smedra
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BIBLICAL KNOWLEDGE -- An understanding (judgment) supernaturally given to new-creation Christians by God the Holy Spirit concerning a specific proposition, statement, or point-of-view; the truth or falsehood of which is also supported by the Word of God--the Bible. This produces genuine (qualitative) knowledge--knowledge with "epistemological certainty." In theological terms, it is also referred to as "illumination" and is the sole possession of new-creation Christians.
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory....but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:6-10.
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OPINION -- Opinion is a point of view regarding any proposition, statement, theory or event, the truth or falsehood of which is supported by evidence. This evidence renders the viewpoint probable, but does not produce the degree of knowledge or certainty mentioned above. Opinions can and most often do contain some degree of bias and are speculative. Because men and women originally were created in the image of God, they possess a God-given right to form opinions, but only in those areas in which the Bible is silent. To assert a differing opinion where God has already spoken is arrogance and an act of independence/rebellion; it is sin.
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PREJUDICE or BIGOTRY -- Prejudice is an adverse judgment formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the evidence or fact. Bigotry is generally the obstinate, unreasonable, emotionally-controlled attachment to a particular prejudice. Bigotry can masquerade as opinion and typically seeks to justify itself. Because God is reasonable, just, and fair, both prejudice and bigotry are ungodly; they are sin.
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