June 25, 2012
We must realize that as children of God the enemy will stop at nothing to have the church pay no attention to the very sin issues which cripple our ability to carry out kingdom business in these last days. Realize that every time you see someone fall -- the devil won the battle regarding sin in their life. For example, that divorce started as lust that led to adultery. One of the greatest weapons the devil uses in this area is to confuse believers regarding the terms judge and judgment. I continue to see people every day espousing negative reactions for being "judged" when they are not actually being judged at all. Their behavior may be in the process of being checked and corrected -- but they are not being judged. From as far back as Cain and Abel we have been taught that we ARE our brother's keeper.
So what is this natural aversion to judgment? For starters let us make sure we understand what we are not talking about. We are not talking about final judgment -- which is God's alone. We are not supposed to pass condemnation upon anyone; that is assign who is going to heaven and who is going to hell. That is because we are not privy to all of the information needed to make that type of judgment. The most pious and religious appearing man might have an entire other side to their life we do not see. More importantly, they may not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ -- who is the only way to the Father according to Scripture. Do not mistake being noble on this earth with being righteous before God. None of us are righteous, not even one according to the Bible. There is no amount of works we can do upon this earth that will ever make us righteous. Conversely, the most depraved appearing individual might actually be repentant truly in his heart and be right before God because of their relationship with Christ as their Lord and Savior. Remember that David was an adulterer and murderer and Peter denied knowing Jesus at all three times -- calling curses down upon himself if he was lying -- which he was. Both repented and were restored. The problem when it comes to actual final judgment is that we are using metrics and measurements of man to determine eternal outcomes. We simply are too ignorant to do that.
That being said, the vast majority of the time we are talking about judgment we are not really talking about final judgment. I do not know anyone who runs around consigning people to heaven or hell based upon appearances. Jesus taught us:
Stop
judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." -- John 7: 24 (NIV)
That is right, Jesus Himself taught us to make the right judgment -- not to avoid judging altogether. More often than not when we are speaking about judging, we really should be using the word "correcting" to make things clearer. Now you may say that fundamentally the difference is the same and you would be right. So who are we to correct? As long as the correcting plumb line is the Bible -- Scripture says we are ok:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped
for every good work. -- 2Timothy 3: 16-17 (NLT)
That is why we have the Bible.
That is why God gave us insight into how we are supposed to govern our
behavior. Now, we may look at this and say that while this is all good and
fine, why should the church be in the business of correction but that is
actually one of the main reasons for its existence. You cannot make disciples
of Christ and not reinforce and teach Christ-like behaviors. In fact, in Paul's
first letter to the Church at
It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your
responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge
those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, "You must remove the evil
person from among you." -- 1Corinthians 5: 12-13 (NLT)
The modern church has it backwards. We spend all day judging the world -- which is walking in utter darkness and turning a blind eye to sin within our lives and our midst. It is easier to condemn a world that is already heading for condemnation than it is to look amongst us. But wait a minute preacher -- I know the Word says judge not lest ye be judged! Yes, yes it does and it is one of the most misunderstood and misused Scriptures in the entire Bible. Here is the entire context:
"Do not judge, or you
too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged,
and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do
you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to
the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, "Let me
take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own
eye? -- Matthew 7: 1-4 (NIV)
Whenever the spotlight is turned on our sin we love to quickly blurt out the first two verses here but then we ignore the remaining context. Jesus is not teaching about judging; He is teaching about hypocrisy. He is actually supporting what is being said here, which is we have a habit of wanting to look at anyone's sin but our own! Still unconvinced? The key verse completes the context. If we were not meant to judge, why then would Christ direct us here to remove the hypocrisy (plank) and THEN remove the speck from our brother's eye? He doesn't teach us to remove the plank and go home. My goodness -- if you saw your brother struggling with a speck in his eye and you could clearly see it -- doesn't removing it prove your love for him?
Listen, sin is what trips us up. Sin is what leads us to fall. Sin is what is behind so many Christians walking devoid of any power, circling the same mountains, and crawling into heaven. If I am flirting with someone and am married -- I want someone to pull me aside and remind me where that road ends. We can always heal from hurt feelings but destroyed lives are a different story. I am sure King David wished someone had pulled him aside before he committed the Bathsheba sin and reminded him what thus sayeth the Lord. We see so many Christians who lead completely bound lives while we sit there holding the key but not want to give it to them for the fear of insulting them. Or the fear of being politically incorrect. Or the fear of being deemed judgmental. As long as our correction or rebuke is done in a spirit of love and firmly grounded in the Word of God and not some personal opinion -- then we are fine.
Love? How is it love to correct me? I can see some reactions already. When you realize where sin ALWAYS ends up -- how can you say you love someone and not warn them? Sometimes love is not holding someone's hand but it is slapping their wrist. God will not be mocked and we will reap what we sow. If we sow to the flesh (sin) we will reap a whirlwind of hurt and pain. We are supposed to be there for each other. To build each other up in the admonition of the Lord. I pray that if our behavior warrants correction that we receive it through the Holy Spirit in the love of Christ.
