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May we judge our neighbor?
To judge is to decide on someone’s guilt or innocence, either
in a court of law, or as personal evaluation of behavior.
Listen carefully to this command of God: “You shall do no
injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor
honor the person of the mighty. But in righteousness you shall
judge your neighbor” (Leviticus 19:15).
Thus, God commands us to judge our neighbor! He also tells
us how to judge. Our judgment is to be just, impartial and
righteous.
Our competence to judge is limited.
You may be thinking, “Why did Jesus say not to judge?”
There are circumstances in which we may not judge, but
there are also circumstances in which we are obligated to judge.
Jesus said: “Do not judge according to appearance, but
judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24).
Thus Jesus also commands us to judge! And He tells us how
to judge: with righteous judgment and not according to
appearances.
What do the Scriptures teach about judging?
We may not judge according to appearance.
This means that we may not judge on the basis of
insufficient, superficial information. Outward appearances are
often misleading.
It was night. The street was dimly lit. A man lay on the
pavement with blood oozing from a wound on his head. I stood
beside him with blood on my sleeve. From appearances, some
might have concluded that I caused his injury. Actually, in a
drunken stupor the man had collided with a lamppost while riding
his bicycle. Having arrived first on the scene, I got blood on my
shirt when I helped him off the road so he would not be run over
by passing cars. I asked bystanders to phone an ambulance and
we were waiting for its arrival.
Righteous judgment must be based on conclusive evidence:
“how it is” rather than “how it looks”.
Sometimes we are personally unqualified to judge.
Jesus said, “And why do you look at the speck in your
brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or
how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck out
of your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite!
First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see
clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Matthew
7:3-5).
What if we condemn someone for something we are doing?
Our judgment may be correct, but we are not qualified to judge
someone else if we are under the same condemnation.
After listing sins deserving death, Paul explains: “Therefore
you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in
whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who
judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment
of God is according to truth against those who practice such
things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those
practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape
the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:1-3).
We may not judge on the basis of personal opinions.
Later in Romans, Paul discusses a situation where some
Christians were vegetarians and others ate meat, a matter of
personal preference: “Let not him who eats despise him who does
not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats;
for God has received him. Who are you to judge another’s
servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be
made to stand, for God is able to make him stand” (Romans
14:3, 4).
In the same context he says: “But why do you judge your
brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we
shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is
written: ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and
every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us shall give
account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another
anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or
a cause to fall in our brother’s way” (Romans 14:10-13).
Sinful activities are not being discussed in this passage. It is
not sinful to eat meat, nor is it sinful to refrain from eating meat.
In connection with personal preferences, we may not judge one
another.
We may not judge when evidence is lacking.
Since only God knows the hearts of men, we can easily be
mistaken.
As Paul wrote, “Some men’s sins are clearly evident,
preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later”
(1 Timothy 5:24).
When sins are evident, we must judge. Those committing
hidden sins will be judged by God. We should not play God by
presuming to judge things that are hidden.
As Paul wrote: “Therefore judge nothing before the time,
until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden
things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts” (1
Corinthians 4:5).
Hidden matters must be left to God.
Our judgment must be righteous.
“The LORD our God is righteous” (Daniel 9:14). Righteous
judgment is based on the righteousness of God.
If our judgment is contrary to the will of God, we are
condemning God! As the Lord asked Job: “Would you indeed
annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be
justified?” (Job 40:3).
By judging wrongly we contradict God’s judgment. Therefore
we must be extremely careful how we judge.
God requires everyone to judge righteously.
Paul explains that even the heathen - and we live in a
heathen society - are responsible for judging rightly because of
knowledge of the righteous judgment of God that they have from
creation, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the
truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is
manifest in them, for God has shown it to them” (Romans 1:18,
19).
After specific condemnation of idolatry, homosexuality and
lesbianism (Romans 1:21-27), Paul lists other common sins of
then and now: “being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual
immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of
envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are
whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters,
inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning,
untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing
the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such
things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also
approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:29-32).
Even the heathen ought to know that such things are wrong;
yet, they not only do them but “also approve of those who
practice them.” A judgment that glosses over such sins is not
righteous.
Of course, evil men object when their sins are exposed.
When Lot said to the homosexuals of Sodom, “I beg you, my
brothers, do not act so wickedly!” they replied, “This fellow came
to sojourn, and he has become the judge!” (Genesis 19:7, 9
ESV).
It is a gross misuse of the words of Christ when evil men say
‘Do not judge’ to ward off sanctions for their sins.
Sin in the church must be condemned.
The church at Corinth tolerated a brother who was living
with his father’s wife!
Paul wrote, “It is actually reported that there is sexual
immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even
named among the Gentiles - that a man has his father’s wife!
And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he
who has done this deed might be taken away from among you”
(1 Corinthians 5:1, 2).
“I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with
sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the
sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or
extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of
the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company
with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous, or
an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner not even
to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging
those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are
inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore ‘put
away from yourselves that wicked person’”
(1 Corinthians 5:9-13).
In such cases, the judgment of the church is merely the
application of the righteous judgment of God. To neglect to judge
is to ignore the judgment of God.
A wise brother should resolve disputes between Christians.
“Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to
law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Do you not
know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be
judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more,
things that pertain to this life? If then you have judgments
concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those
who are least esteemed by the church to judge? I say this to your
shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not
even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?” (1
Corinthians 6:1-5).
God will judge us the way we judge others.
In that list of sins deserving death in Romans chapter one
we also find ‘unforgiving’ and ‘unmerciful’. If we are unmerciful,
we will not receive the grace of God.
From that perspective Jesus says: “Judge not, that you be
not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be
judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured
back to you” (Matthew 7:1, 2). “Therefore be merciful, just as
your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be
judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive,
and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:36, 37).
To receive mercy we must bestow mercy.
We want to receive mercy when we are judged. Thus we
must be merciful when we judge others. This is why James says,
“So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of
liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown
no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:12, 13).
We may not condemn the guiltless by neglecting mercy:
“But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not
sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew
12:7).
Does this mean that everyone will be absolved by God?
Certainly not. Jesus says that few will be saved and many will be
lost (Luke 13:23, 24; Matthew 7:13, 14).
Mercy, too, must comply with the righteous judgment of
God. What if we are unmerciful to those to whom God shows
mercy, or if we are merciful to those to whom God does not show
mercy? Thus, we must study the Scriptures so we can judge our
neighbor in righteousness. “He who justifies the wicked, and he
who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to
the LORD” (Proverbs 17:15).
What have we learned about judging?
God commands us to judge our neighbor! Our judgment
must be just and impartial. Our competence to judge is limited.
We may not judge according to appearances. Sometimes we are
personally unqualified to judge. We may not judge on the basis of
personal opinions, and we may not judge when evidence is
lacking. Our judgment must be righteous. Sin in the church must
be condemned. God will judge us the way we judge others. To
receive mercy we must bestow mercy.
“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with
righteous judgment” (John 7:24).
“You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be
partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. But in
righteousness you shall judge your neighbor” (Leviticus 19:15).
Amen.
Roy Davison
The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc.,
Publishers
unless indicated otherwise. Permission for reference use has been granted.
Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)