KYOWVA Bulletin Inserts

“JUDGING EACH OTHER???”

By Dr. Hoyt W. Allen, Jr.

May we, as serious students of our Creator's revelation, understand that God is not a God of confusion (I Cor. 14:33). In other words as we discover scriptures which teach to forsake judging and then other scriptures which promote judging, God is not contradicting Himself. Thus, we must consider the context in order to get the true meaning of each passage of scripture.

Let us begin our study with the following scriptures and attempt to elaborate on some of them. The King James Version (KJV) will be quoted unless otherwise stated.

Probably no one would take issue with God having the right to "judge" as He made it very clear, in Genesis 2:17, that those of the human race would die spiritually if they chose to sin. Likewise, I've never heard anyone condemning Noah for refusing to permit the sinful to enter the ark, thus judging them (Genesis 6,7). Nor have I ever heard anyone blame Moses for judging the Israelites for worshipping the golden calf (Exodus 32) and thus slaying about three thousand of them.

Too often the advocates who scream out, “The Bible says to Judge not,” stop too short with Matthew 7:1 This verse condemns a judgement which is unloving and dishonest. I say this because in v. 6 the disciple is directed not to give that which is “holy" (spiritual context) to dogs (non-believers) and not to cast pearls" (precious possessions) before swine (morally impure) or in other words, don’t try to impress the precious claims of the gospel upon those who despise it until they persecute you for making a nuisance of yourself. Thus, one is called upon to “judge” whether people are dogs and swine. In verses 15,l6 one is called upon to judge if one is a false teacher. Thus, one must be a "fruit inspector” according to the Word of God.

In Matthew 18:15-17 Jesus outlines the manner in which an offended person should react, but being a part of the human race for a short time allows us to discover that too many times this is not practiced. In this outline this must be done, first by the offended, then by the witnesses, and last by the congregation. God says here, “Judge”.

A few other places where “Judging “ is called for are: 1) I Cor. 5:1-13 Illegal sexual activity is involved 2) II Thess. 3:6 Withdrawal from the disorderly 3) Ephesians 5:11 The Christian is instructed not to fellowship with those who promote works of darkness. How can you avoid such unless you judge what darkness is? 4) A list of qualifications for the Eldership and Deaconship is found in I Tim. 3:1-13. There is just no way that a conscientious church member can vote on a man unless one judges the man in light of these scriptures. This is not an unloving or dishonest judgment which is spoken of in Matt. 7:1, but the same logical judgment as one would use as he goes to the polls in a public election in the secular government. I am afraid that too many church members have

voted men into these offices" for fear that they were going to be condemned if they voted “no." As a result, a number of men have served in church leadership capacities who were not qualified, and refused to become qualified and thus, have stagnated the growth of many congregations. God commands us to judge! 5) II Tim. 5:20 says that sinning elders are to be rebuked before the church so other church members may fear rebuking for sinning. Now, how can such take place unless the sinning elder is caught and judged for his sin?

In II Tim. 4:2 the apostle instructs to "reprove" and to "rebuke." According to Dr. D. A. Nash (Professor of Greek and New Testament), "reprove" is convicting one of doctrinal error, and "rebuke" is convicting one of moral error. Thus, one must make judgment to determine if error (doctrinal or moral) is being made.

The very next book in the Bible (Titus 1:13) uses the same term "rebuke" again in order to encourage steadfastness. Likewise the term is repeated in 2:15. In the last chapter (3:10) a heretic is said to be rejected. How can one be determined a heretic unless judgment is made?

II John: 10 warns of the false teacher who would knock on our door, thus telling us to judge him/her for their worth, in light of the scriptures. Judgement is commanded!

In Romans 2:1-3 judging is not condemned, but what is condemned is the telling someone something is sin, judging them for it and then committing the very same sin ourselves - thus condemning ourselves. This is seen also in Matt. 7:1-5. However you judge others, you must be ready to be judged by the same manner.

May God help us to understand that judging one another in areas of opinion where there is no "thus saith the Lord" is wrong (Romans 14).

We ought to be very thankful to God for allowing us to live in a free nation where we can have a fair trial before being convicted of a crime. We need to be grateful for our judicial system which God began in Exodus 18:13f and which is promoted under the new covenant (Romans 13:1-7).

Now, probably more important than all of the preceding scriptures are those comprising the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15,16). Jesus said to "go with the gospel." Yet many are reluctant because they feel they are judging a person if they tell the person he or she is lost. In one sense, one is making a judgment. But, it is not a mean, cruel, dishonest, or unloving judgment. Rather, it is a judgment done in the light of God's word. "He that winneth souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30). Seriously now, we cannot win souls unless we first judge a person to be lost. Let's stop making excuses and get about the Lord's business. God commands judging.

Jesus instructed His followers to always judge with righteous judgment (John 7:24). That means to be honest and loving, considering all the facts and not hearsay only. Now if we, after becoming aware of the above scripture, refuse to judge, then we could be guilty of committing the unpardonable sin (Matt. 12:31,32) which is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. None of us want this, so let's get busy for God!