Judging Others

Ask a person on the street whether someone should judge their personal behavior, and I bet many will come up with a response inspired by Jesus – people should judge not, lest they be judged. The reason for this is obvious – who wants others looking down their noses with judgment of the private done in the privacy of their home. No one likes a finger wagger, right? Anyway, I am thinking about Jesus' teaching at the Sermon on the Mount telling us that we should not judge lest we be judged (Matthew 7:1), and how this fits in with other New Testament verses. For example, there are a few other verses that teach something different, like 1 Corinthians 2:15 (the spiritual person judges all things…) And so, with this post I will try and piece these verses together.

Local Pastor John Piper is writing some great posts on his blog – and he's writing frequently, so check him out here. But he recently wrote on this topic that is of interest to me – judging others. Pastor Piper wrote on the benefit of a Church being able to judge its own members. Here is his post:

But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? (1 Corinthians 5:11-12)

It is dangerous not to be judged. We need other people to judge us, with righteous judgment (John 7:24). We need accountability. If we don't have Christian friends that are close enough to confront us when our lifestyle doesn't match our confession, then we ought to tremble.

The type of judgment I am referring to is not generated by a desire to look down on others for the sake of feeling superior—a condescending disposition. Rather, it comes from a tender disposition of love. It comes from a Nathan who is willing to tell David to repent and turn to God (2 Samuel 12).

We should fear God in light of the sin that can deceive and destroy us. We should not fear the judgment that comes from friends in the church which helps us to fight sin. This is grace!

It is immeasurably more safe to be a part of a local church that watches for our souls. Praise God for the safety that is in the righteous judgment of his people. It is grace from heaven! (Pastor John Piper, Desiring God post).

So the message from the 1 Corinthians 5:11-12 verse (above) is that Christians are not to judge non-believers, but we are to be accountable to someone in the Church. This could be a Pastor we confess our sins to, a small group, or any other Christian who has sound judgment, a clear understanding of God's Grace, and wisdom in handling the battles we are facing. Pastor Piper does a good job in drawing out the importance of this in his post. But Christians should not, and need not judge others outside the Church. God has this job, and doesn't need any help! Anyway, here are a few other verses dealing with the topic of judging others:

John 7:24 - Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.

 

Romans 2:1-2
Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. ² We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.

 

1 Corinthians 2:15 -
The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.

 

1 Corinthians 4:3-5
But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ⁴ For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵ Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

 

James 4:11-12
Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. ¹² There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

From these verses, I think Christians need to focus on love. Christians need to stay away from judging the actions of non-believers. It turns off the non-believer from "religion" (see this CNN news story of author Anne Rice quitting Christianity, but not quitting Jesus.) I'm not sure how this works in real life, so maybe you can help me with this. As an example, does this mean we should not protest outside of an abortion clinic? Exercising love for the unborn fetuses seems to be more important than hurting someone's feeling by use of the protest "judgment". But I don't know, and I certainly am not certain of this. So if there are any thoughts on this, I would be interested in hearing from you. May the Lord bless you with growing knowledge of God through Christ our Lord, /s/Tom