Banging the Gavel...

April 14, 2009

Danielle Joyner Kelley

"For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:2.

If you are ever in need of a scripture to defend yourself while facing accusations posed by others, this would be the one. However, if the person you are quoting this scripture to is well versed in the Bible, go ahead and get ready. You will get hit over the head with several other scriptures where they will argue it is not only okay to judge but it is necessary. Then again, you can come back with more scriptures similar to the one above to defend your position as well. And on and on it goes.

The truth is we have to look at when we can judge, whom we can judge, and by what measure we can judge. That is the only true way to be sure what you are doing is in line with the Word of God.

Some other scriptures that tell us not to judge:

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." Luke 6:37.

"There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?" James 4:12.

So does this mean we cannot judge others actions no matter what? It truly depends. When you are about to make a judgmental comment about someone or you are encountering a comment from someone else look for a key piece of the puzzle: the motive. That is where God is looking.

Scriptures that tells us that? Let’s see.

“But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." - 1 Samuel 16:7

“Therefore, judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.” 1 Corinthians 4:5

“All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart.” Proverbs 21:2

“I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Matthew 5:8

“You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:2-3

“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.” 1 Chronicles 28:9

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Matthew 6:1.

And that is only a fraction of them, trust me. God is always looking at the motive, so a good rule of advice is that you need to be doing the same.

Another key to look for: does the judgment have to do with something the person is doing that is contrary to the Word of God? Simply put - is it a sin God wouldn't approve of or is it a "disputable matter"? "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12.

This scripture encompasses both keys, "word of God is living and active" (is what the person doing in line with what God wants us to do) and "thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (the motive). Be very, very careful in weighing someone else’s motives though.

"So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another." 1 Corinthians 4:1-6.

In that scripture, we see where God is looking at the motives as He "will expose the motives of men's hearts". Also, we are to "judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes". But also, "Do not go beyond what is written. Then you will not take pride in one man over against another". That means don't judge outside of God's word. If you do, you are allowing "pride" (which God definitely does NOT like) to place one man over or against another. For example, pretend I have a great guy friend who has been coming to a Bible Study at my house for months, and he has been a pleasure to have around. Assume that one night he shows up and is rude and disrespectful, and starts yelling all kinds of things and lying and making up rumors that are untrue about others in the room. I know that he is lying, he is gossiping, and he is causing discontent among believers. God tells us we should not do any of those things. So what do I do about it?

Solution #1: My rude friend leaves and I look at the group and apologize and tell them I am going to talk to him later about it. After the study, I call my friend and tell him how wrong he was and that he should have known better. I tell him that I have committed the same sins before, and that I want him to continue his relationship with God. Also, I tell him how upset I am that he caused other members to be upset and that his actions were wrong and contrary to God's word. He doesn't listen. So I call several other group members and have them talk to him also. Still he doesn't listen. So I ask our Pastor at Church to reach out to him because he may be having problems (but leave the details up to him to tell).

Solution #2: My rude friend leaves and I roll my eyes and feel so embarrassed. I start to worry whether or not any of these members will come back. So I try to look cool and say, "I never liked him anyway, he is so obnoxious". Then I tell the group how his actions were contrary to God's word, and that God must be so angry with him right now. Also, I don't bother to tell anyone that I have also lied, gossiped, and caused discontent. I call our Pastor after the group leaves and tell him that I don't want this guy in any more of my church studies because I think he is Satan and doesn't care about God.

Which one do you think is right? First of all, base all judgment on God's word in preparation for God. "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." 2 Timothy 4:1-4.

Second of all, make sure the person whom you are trying to "correct, rebuke and encourage" is the one you state your judgment to first. "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector." Matthew 18:15-17.

What sense would it make otherwise? The goal of correcting, rebuking, and encouraging someone is to bring about change in them right? If it were not then why would you need to do any of those things? If you are angry that your friend has a problem of lying and you want that person to stop, will it do you good to go to everyone else instead of that friend? How can that friend have the chance to change unless you went to them first?

For example, assume that I decide that my favorite bookstore chain is not in line with the Word of God because they sell magazines about how to worship Satan. Who do I go to first?

Solution #1: I go to the store and ask to speak to the manager. If he doesn't get my point, I get the number to headquarters. If they disagree, I find people who think it is wrong also and get them to call.

Solution #2: I don't say anything to any employee at the store or to headquarters but I come home and send out messages over my email and Facebook telling people that this bookstore chain is "evil" and not to go there.Which is more in line with what Jesus said above in Matthew 18:15-17? I didn't give them a chance to change first if I don't address them personally.

Most importantly before you talk and another key: DO NOT be a hypocrite (simply put don't say one thing and do another or accuse someone of something you are doing yourself). Call yourself out if you know you are telling someone not to do something that you have done yourself. Trust me, God does NOT like hypocrisy. "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment?" Romans 2:1-3. Answer: NO.

The word "judge" is harsh and God is aware that it can be used wrongly and allow someone to fall into sin. That is why so many scriptures make it clear that it has to be a sound judgment. What are your motives? Are they in line with the Word of God? Is it something that you have done yourself? Don't judge your friend and tell everyone you don't like his outfit. But correct him if you can tell he is leading himself away from God, while using "sound doctrine and careful instruction" and letting him know if you have done the same thing. "Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.” John 7:24. God warns us over and over about false teachers who are claiming to hear Him but are not. Trust me, I fear that so much I would not dare write this unless I felt the confirmation from the Holy Spirit. And those that appear more respectful and delectable also need to be scrutinized.

Be very careful in judging another person's motives. Make sure that what you are judging is something out of line with God's Word, and not a disputable matter. "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand." Romans 14:1-4.

When you judge someone else's motives you are judging their heart. Be very careful here. You think you know what is in their heart, but unless you are them you do not. Here is where you can get into trouble. "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7.

If you feel that you may be judging on a "disputable matter" two words of advice: DO NOT. If it is something that is truly disputable as to whether or not an action is against what God wants, then keep your mouth shut. If it is not in the Bible, and I mean the BIBLE, no other book or anything else, and if you have not read the Bible to understand the scripture as a whole, then just don’t go there please. "Do not go beyond what is written." 1 Corinthians 4:6.

What you may think you "know" is wrong may not be important at all. If you decide to go ahead with it anyway you run the risk of putting yourself before God. "Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it." James 4:11. Remember this, Jesus died on the Cross so people could be forgiven. If a person has asked for and received His forgiveness and yet you are unwilling to forgive them, ask yourself if your forgiveness is more important? Did you die for anyone? Are you the Son of God? Finding out you were wrong on your own Day of Judgment is not worth it. Trust me on that one.

Judging those within the churches is mentioned in the Bible, but again the rules apply. Make sure your motives are pure. The goal is to prevent anyone from facing a horrible judgment in the afterlife. If you are doing it to gain power or look good to others then you already have your reward once you gossip about them. "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." Matthew 6:1. If your goal is to be seen by others, do you seriously expect a reward? Think of the charity example - you give $2 million to a charity to win an elected office and look good. You look good to man by giving the money, why should God reward you? You got what you wanted. Even if you appear so powerful and convincing, remember Jesus was aware of that danger. “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” Matthew 19:30.

Lastly, make sure you know God's Word before opening your mouth. If you are in doubt on whether or not you should judge anyone then, as they say, “If you don’t have anything nice to say then say nothing at all”. God is the Judge. "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies." Romans 8:31-33.

Every one of our motives will eventually be brought to light. As stated before, “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God." 1 Corinthians 4:5.

And if someone does judge you, stand firm in the Armor of God. Make sure that you have talked to Him and feel Him working within you. That is the “absolute knowledge” that although people question, you will know is 100% positive. And you will feel it so strongly you will not feel sorry. Trust me, people doubt me all the time, but I make sure that I have not only studied the Living Word, I am in line with it, and I am being faithful by saying what I am saying.

My answer to any judgment? My God’s Living Word: “But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” James 2:14-18.