For a long while now one of the favorite phrases by those with contrasting moral opinions or more aptly, theological opinions has been, “The Bible says not to judge [others]!” For Christians this can be a debate stopper. The main reason being that the Bible does state in several different verses not to judge others.
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;” Luke 6:37 ESV
“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. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?” James 4:11-12 ESV
“Judge not, that you be not judged.” Matthew 7:1 ESV
These are just a few of the verses in the Bible, with others available, that talk about not judging others. Even Jesus stated; “He who is without sin cast the first stone.” A pronouncement of the judgment about to be exercised on the cheating woman. But, are those that use this and reprend Christians so harshly as to beat them over the head with it correct? Let’s look at the difference between what God has called us to do and not to do.
For most people a basic study of the Bible renders argument rebuttals when engaging others, mainly steadfast Christians, in conversation or arguments over God’s word. A barrage of, but why dominate the discussion and can sometimes leave questions unanswered or for a good many, an unsatisfactory explanation of God and His Word. When I say basic it is the bare minimum in regards to the gist of the Bible. All the staple points are usually perused. The creation, the flood, the ten commandments, David and Goliath, the birth of Jesus, the apocalypse, et cetera, et cetera. For a good portion of people that’s good enough. For another, smaller portion of people, they look the Bible over searching for the “errors”, circular logic arguments that make no sense, or anything else that will help them in their crusade against God. So, when it comes to judging, how exactly are Christians supposed to take a stance, opposite the world, when there are verses like the ones above? To understand what God means we must not only look to Him for guidance on the matter, but we must also use the rest of His Word to figure out the appropriate actions to take. For example, we can use the aforementioned story of Jesus calling out those religious leaders about to stone the cheating woman. What is taking place exactly in this story? A judgment? Most certainly, but what kind of judgment is taking place? Let’s look at a place I frequently tap to understand the history of words and their origins, etymonline.com.
Judge (v)
c. 1200, iugen, "examine, appraise, make a diagnosis;" c. 1300, "to form an opinion about; inflict penalty upon, punish; try (someone) and pronounce sentence," also intransitive, "make a decision, decide, think, suppose;"
As you can see (or hear if you’re listening) the word judge appears around 1200 (Note: there is no other time period indicator so I will assume this is AD) and its common use is to examine, appraise, or make a diagnosis. It isn’t until one hundred years later in 1300 (AD) that it also becomes synonymous with forming an opinion about; inflict penalty upon, punish; try (someone) and pronounce [a] sentence. Now, let’s return to the story of Jesus. What’s the beginning of that story? What happened before, he who is without sin cast the first stone?
“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” John 8:3-5 ESV
Let’s notice a few things about this story. Firstly, notice how only the woman has been brought to Jesus and not the man. No, this is not an allusion to toxic masculinity, but rather, a peek into just how these righteous individuals presented themselves. If the woman was caught in the act of adultery then why not also bring the man as well? There are several reasons why this could be but the two that I lean more towards are that 1.) the man that the woman was committing adultery with was one of the Pharisaical members and thus they did not want to bring one of their own forward, as it would ruin their entire argument. 2.) There was no man at all. They simply grabbed a woman known for being loose around town so that they could create this trap for Jesus. The second thing to note about this story is that the Pharisees, as stated in scripture, have designed a trap and in doing so have already decided what they will do. They have already placed a judgment on the woman. They are ready to execute their judgment, until Jesus speaks, leaving them confounded and ultimately defeated.
So, what can we observe from this story about judgment? How do we move forward in an ever crumbling world if we are constantly reminded by the world that the Bible says, “judge not.”
Well, we can begin by reminding the world that the Bible does say to judge.
“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” John 7:24 ESV
Remembering the etymonline definitions we can see that the judgment the Bible speaks of is not the judicial decision of what happens to other people based on our own decision, but rather a judgment that examines or appraises [a situation or cultural claim that is said to be “good”] and carries with it Biblical jurisprudence. God and His word are the authority, not man. Telling someone and repeating what God has stated does not place the ownership of judgment with you, the individual. Afterall, when you remind a friend that is excessively speeding down the highway what the speed limit is, does that mean that you made the speed limit? Or are you trying to help your friend avoid a fine or potential jail time? Observe also, if your friend is pulled over and taken to jail for reckless endangerment notice that you are not taken as well.
However, in our current era, the enemy has done a rather excellent job at stigmatizing and completely black listing the term judgment from the standpoint of Christians using it as intended. Let’s say you have a local drag organization that wants to come attend your church on Sunday morning. They intend to dress in the drag, talk with children and meet the community of church goers. If your church decides to say; “no, we are not going to allow that for a bevy of reasons, but chiefly, because we do not want to put the children of this church community in such an environment.” Well, then be prepared to be hit with a multitude of accusations including that you and your church are bigots and judgmental phobes. Again though, is there any Biblical example we can turn to as a guide to which we can properly lens our decisions or judgements through when presented with such situations?
“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?” 1 Cor 1-2 NIV
The New Testament letters from Paul to the churches are among the most hated by the culture of the world. Simply put, Paul didn’t pull any punches and got right down to calling out churches who claimed to be doing the “Lord’s work” and had many bizarre, wrong and out-right sinful things going on within the walls of their church. Here Paul calls out the sin of sexual immorality, that being incest. Let’s compare and contrast what he says here with our modern day churches. The first line states at the end that “even pagans do not tolerate [what is happening here.]” Sound familiar? Across the landscape of the world we have seen people who either don’t believe in God or believe in some other form of spirituality saying that places like schools, libraries and churches are not places for certain behaviors to take place. The MacArthur Bible commentary states this about the first verse of those two verses; “the sin was so vile that even the church’s pagan neighbors were doubtless scandalized by [such an action].” Verse two continues; “And you are proud!” Again, sound familiar? Seen any videos lately where pastors or clergymen stand defending the actions that they and their attendees are allowing? Again, the MacArthur Bible commentary states; “puffed up. So arrogant and carnal as to try excusing even that extreme wickedness.” I have seen so many videos lately of pastors and individuals exclaiming and espousing why what they are allowing in their church and accepting is a good and “pleases the Lord”. Personally, I would be weary to say, quite hastily, as to what pleases the Lord. Especially if I have no Biblical evidence of such claims but rather a host of the contrary.
What’s going on with the world?
We need to discuss a few more things before we can fully decide just what’s taking place. I can assure you, however, that what is happening will surely lead to God’s judgment in the end. The final court that holds very real and serious consequences for all.
To be continued next month in Don’t Think, Just Do. Part II: Judgment is not love… or is it?
God Bless,
J. Burge