Judge Not

[rdwhite]

If you look also at other passage that refer to those who 'speak evil' of another you will see it bears out the same thing, such as with Peter and Jude:

Amen, those are very good examples that help demonstrate the motive of evil speaking. Thanks Allan!

Which brings us back to the Lord's sermon on the mount; the law was concerned mainly with outward actions and behaviours, but now in Christ, we are held to a higher standard. Our motives and intentions for our actions will be judged in addition to the actions themselves.

Which is why we should be prudent before and while judging a fellow Christian, to examine ourselves first, to make sure that our intentions are pure, and that we are not guilty of the same things. Confrontation should never be to tear down, to humiliate, to punish, to make them "feel bad", to teach them a lesson, et cetera. It should only be done with the intent to restore, to edify, to rebuild, to help them become a better and stronger Christian.

Galatians 5
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Galatians 6
1Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.​

 

[steaver]

Pro 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Thank you all for the helpful commentary. It is obvious that "judging" and "rebuking" must have seperate motives and context since one is a no,no and the other is an exhortation. I just wanted to make sure I could do a good job of explaining it without getting the blank stares :laugh:

Again, very helpful guys and girls. Thank you much!

I was raised in a Methodist church were you never dared to point out anothers sin. Those in my family who have never been to any other church still to this day every time I speak about talking with someone about the path they are on they are quick to say "Well, we are not to judge" and then they make sure they remind me of the sins of my past that I have done and quickly declare that we all sin every day. Basically, so let's all just turn a blind eye and worry about ourselves alone.

Have any of you ever gotten the "Judge Not" thrown in your face when trying to, in the biblical way, rebuke someone's behavior? What would be a very good and simplistic rebutal when someone throws this at you, when you know full well you are not "judging" but rather doing righteously as the bible instructs. Remember, these who throw this around generally have no bible knowledge, but have heard the old "Judge Not" from many resources, however ungodly they may be even. So they probably are not going to understand any lengthy explanation as to why they are wrong.

What I have done many times is to say 'show me from the bible why you say I am judging you'. Of course they don't know the bible but they say 'it's in there'. I've never had anyone look it up and get back with me. If they would then I could explain the difference. So what could be a short but very effective rebutal to the "Are you judging me" question?

:jesus:

 

[nodak]

We sort of encountered what you are speaking of last Sunday. Our SS text was the entire 22 chapter of Rev. Now, buried in there (v15?) is a list of people who won't be in heaven because of certain practices.

The list ranges kind of far and wide, not singling out any specific group. I can tell you we are evangelistic and missionary minded, so often we have people that will find themselves in one of those types of lists.

Usually the first thing out of their mouths is "but we are not to judge each other." Right on. We are not.

I tell them they are absolutely correct that we are not to judge EACH OTHER, but that each of us is to look at our own heart and actions and judge THOSE by the clear Word of God.

I give them this example: Suppose my best friend tells me she is committing adultery. Clearly, I am not to judge her. But if I understand passages such as James 5:19-20 correctly, I need to read her something. Then I can read her a passage condemning adultery, turn, and walk away. I am not judging her (determining if she is in a state of salvation or not) but I am giving her the information she needs in order to judge her own actions. Beyond that, it is between her and God. Now, obviously, if she is also claiming to be my sister in Christ, I have to pray about fellowshipping with her. And no way am I gonna cover up for her or assist this little tryst in any way.

Nine times out of ten in real life in a situation like that you WILL get it thrown in your face that you are judging. See, it is easier to try to deflect attention from her sin to your "sin". Sort of like a bunch of 3rd graders--let them get in a fight, and every last one of them will try to tell the teacher the other person was at fault.

You can't stop them from doing that. All you can do is refuse to judge their souls while being bold enough to speak the truth.

But I would suggest rather than attacking them or their actions, just speak the Word. A simple "You know God's Word says abcxyz" is enough.

 

[steaver]

We sort of encountered what you are speaking of last Sunday. Our SS text was the entire 22 chapter of Rev. Now, buried in there (v15?) is a list of people who won't be in heaven because of certain practices.

The list ranges kind of far and wide, not singling out any specific group. I can tell you we are evangelistic and missionary minded, so often we have people that will find themselves in one of those types of lists.

Usually the first thing out of their mouths is "but we are not to judge each other." Right on. We are not.

I tell them they are absolutely correct that we are not to judge EACH OTHER, but that each of us is to look at our own heart and actions and judge THOSE by the clear Word of God.

I give them this example: Suppose my best friend tells me she is committing adultery. Clearly, I am not to judge her. But if I understand passages such as James 5:19-20 correctly, I need to read her something. Then I can read her a passage condemning adultery, turn, and walk away. I am not judging her (determining if she is in a state of salvation or not) but I am giving her the information she needs in order to judge her own actions. Beyond that, it is between her and God. Now, obviously, if she is also claiming to be my sister in Christ, I have to pray about fellowshipping with her. And no way am I gonna cover up for her or assist this little tryst in any way.

Nine times out of ten in real life in a situation like that you WILL get it thrown in your face that you are judging. See, it is easier to try to deflect attention from her sin to your "sin". Sort of like a bunch of 3rd graders--let them get in a fight, and every last one of them will try to tell the teacher the other person was at fault.

You can't stop them from doing that. All you can do is refuse to judge their souls while being bold enough to speak the truth.

But I would suggest rather than attacking them or their actions, just speak the Word. A simple "You know God's Word says abcxyz" is enough.

I understand what you are saying, however, quoting them God's word is just the same as saying your in sin and need to repent. Either way they can wrongly accuse you of "judging" them. Rebuke is not an "attack". Godly rebuke is done in love because we love the person and do not want to see them destroying themselves.

I think rd explained the difference between judging and rebuking very well. We are not to "judge" other's motives or service for the Lord, We are to "rebuke" another's sin, in fact, we are commanded to do so and if we do not we are committing sin.

Lev 19:17¶Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.


Pro 27:5 Open rebuke [is] better than secret love.

If we see our nieghbour sin and say nothing it is equated to hating your nieghbour and we are to love thy nieghbour.

:jesus:

 

[nodak]

As I said, it isn't our job to keep them from subjectively feeling judged.

It is our job not to judge them, and to share God's word about whatever the issue is with them.

 

[Revmitchell]

Modern definition of judge:

Do not use scripture to point out my error or sinful condition.

 

[rdwhite]

As I said, it isn't our job to keep them from subjectively feeling judged.

It is our job not to judge them, and to share God's word about whatever the issue is with them.

Case in Point: This is one of the reasons the churches of America are in such a state of apostasy. The gospel according to Oprah and Olsteen repugnantly permeates many pulpits.

 

[steaver]

Modern definition of judge:

Do not use scripture to point out my error or sinful condition.

This is a sad truth found throughout the churches of Jesus Christ. This is why I have chosen this topic for my men's meeting. We need to educate our brothers and sisters on how to righteously rebuke and how to not unrighteously judge. We are commanded by scripture to rebuke our neighbours. How else might they ever repent and find Jesus.

:jesus: