CHRISTIAN UNITY COMES FROM JUDGING RIGHTEOUSLY! (SPIRITUAL WARFARE, PART 5)

Judge Righteously!

Be careful how you judge! All division between humans follows making judgments. It's impossible not to make judgments (every decision is one), and it would be immoral not to make the kinds of discerning judgments between right and wrong Scripture (and every concept of good vs evil) requires. There's no way to be a good person unless you're choosing not to do evil, and there's no way to do that unless you can judge between the two and know the difference.

Jesus did say, "Judge not, that you be not judged" (Matt 7:1 ESV), but He also followed that hyperbolic commandment with several qualifying instructions in verses 2–6, which I summarize: 

(1) You'll be judged by God by the same standard you use to judge others (v. 2).
(2) Don't judge hypocritically (v. 3–5), but as long as you're not being hypocritical, "judging" your brother with the sincere intent to help him is good. 
(3) Then, v. 6 says, "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you," which means, "Be careful who you try to reach; some people are so lost to evil they will always respond to good with hostility." 

Obeying these instructions requires making several judgment calls, starting with yourself, and that's the key to judging righteously as Jesus said in John 7:24, "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."

So, Matthew 7:1 doesn't mean what a lot of people think it means. "Judging" in righteous ways is essential if you want to be good and do right. 

What, then, is unrighteous judgment—the kind Jesus forbids?

Based on Matthew 7, it's judging with a double standard, especially not holding yourself to the standard you expect of others. A common version of this is judging yourself based on your intentions, but judging others based on their actions. That's not fair! Righteous judgment recognizes that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." Intent is important. If you have bad intentions, that's evil. If you have good intentions but don't act on them, that's evil too! "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin" (James 4:17 ESV). 

Righteous judgment is impartial, unhypocritical, and based on the teachings of Scripture (Heb 5:11–14), and there is a kind or degree of judging that Scripture absolutely forbids Christians to do. The apostle Paul commands: 

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. (1 Corinthians 4:5 ESV)

What "pronounce judgment" means is to declare the sentence of "heaven" or "hell" on a person where God has not already revealed it. In other words, if, like in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10, Scripture has already pronounced judgment, there's no sin in reporting it. In fact, it's the loving thing to do so that people avoid the promised condemnation of those who believe or practice whatever God has already pronounced judgment on. Regarding all other issues in Scripture or not in Scripture, if God has not yet pronounced final judgment on it or those who think or do it—whatever it is—no faithful believer has a right to pronounce that judgment. Leave it to the Lord just like the apostle commanded. All true believers must be faithful to "judge" in the sense of discerning right and wrong from the Word, and then to preach and teach it, but none of us know the full mind of the Lord to know for sure how far the bounds of grace will extend on Judgment Day. Leave that to the Lord! Many of the divisions in church history would've been avoided if only Christians had obeyed 1 Corinthians 4:5.

So, keep a clean conscience in your own walk with God (1 Tim 1:5), which requires prayerful Bible study and judging yourself by its teachings. Having learned some truth, "teach and rebuke with all authority" (Titus 2:15), but know your place, accept your limitations, and respect the Master's right to judge His own servants for Himself (Rom 14:4).

In other words, be humble enough to mind your own business!

Here's the point of all this to the subject I've been developing in recent writings, which is the importance of Christian unity to winning the ultimate victory in spiritual warfare: If you're judging unrighteously you will not be able to remain on good terms with those who ought to be your brothers and sisters in Christ. If you don't know the Word and so base your judgments on other things, you'll be a divider. If you judge unfairly, hypocritically giving yourself breaks you give no one else, or favor some in ways you won't favor others regardless of what they do, you're a divisive person. If you think you are wise enough to pronounce judgment on others that the word has not specifically already pronounced, even if your pronouncement is based on inferences you've made from the word, or what you perceive to be flawless logic, you're the problem in between the Body and its unified peace, and you must repent, learn better, and by all means, do better!

---JLP

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