Judge Not

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.​

 

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.

 

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.

 

Modern definition of judge:

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

 

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.