Are We To Judge? - Part
1
Well I was listening to the radio the other
night and this Judeo-Christian preacher was telling people how they are
not to judge. So realizing that these traitors cannot think for themselves,
they will all soon be preaching that folks are not to judge; and when they
say that they are lying through their teeth, they know better, but they
would rather have the praise of a bunch of anti-christ Jews, and the money
their false teachings will bring than to honor our Savior the Lord Jesus
Christ.
So I present this for your study and review
and comments if you wish:
Judge Not or Not to Judge
"Judge not, that ye be not judged." (Matthew 7:1) has become
the Great American "Cop-out;" and is uttered with equal fervor by both
Humanists, antichrists and even Christians. Christians have not only allowed
our enemies, the Humanists and Jews to steal our Scriptural weapons in
the battle against evil, and it would appear, we have also willingly taken
up their banner.
God gave the Bible, with His Laws and Statutes recorded therein,
so that we can use them to "judge" between good and evil. But the antichrists
and all too many Christians say we cannot judge, thus forbidding us to
act according to God's Laws and Statutes.
That men have, almost from the beginning, resented being "judged"
for their evil, sinful and unGodly acts. For it is clearly seen in Genesis
19:9, "And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow
[Lot] came in to sojourn, and he needs be a judge [Preach - Teach God's
Laws and Statutes - condemning their sinful acts]: now will we deal worse
with thee, than with them [the Angels who had come to visit Lot before
God's destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah]..."
Of course men must "judge" and is clearly shown in Exodus 18:13,
"And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to JUDGE the people..."
However, we are to "judge" according to God's Laws. "When they
have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another,
and I do make them know the statutes of God, and His laws." (Exodus 18:16)
This is clearly shown in Leviticus 19:15, "Ye shall do no unrighteousness
in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor know the
person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor."
Again we are told: "Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve
the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." (1 Samuel 1:17)
In 1 Corinthians 6:2-4: "Do ye not know
that the saints [Christians] shall judge the world? and if the world be
judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not
that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to
judge who are least esteemed in the church."
Our Israel brethren [Anglo-Saxon, Germanic,
Scandinavian, Celtic and kindred people], those brave men and women who
first established colonies on the shores of America, were taught God's
Laws and were not afraid to judge between persons or doctrines. In fact,
they considered it their moral duty to act upon their beliefs which were
firmly based upon the Holy Bible. If we desire a rebirth of this great
Nation; we, too, must not be afraid to
judge.
What exactly does it mean to "judge?"
Noah Webster, in his 1828 dictionary, offers us eleven uses of the word
"judge."
1) To hear and determine a case; examine and decide. Chaos shall
judge the strife. (Milton)
2) To try; to examine and pass sentence on. Take ye him and judge
him according to your law. (John 18) God shall judge the righteous and
the wicked. (Ecclesiastes 3)
3) Rightly to understand and discern. He that is spiritual, judgeth
all things. (1 Corinthians 2)
4) To censure rashly; to pass severe sentence. Judge not, that
ye be not judged. (Matthew 7)
5) To esteem; to think; to reckon. If ye have judged me to be
faithful to the Lord. (Acts 16)
6) To rule or govern. The Lord shall judge His people. (Hebrews
10)
7) To doom to punishment; to punish. I will judge thee according
to thy ways. (Ezekiel 7)
8) To compare facts or ideas, and perceive their agreement or
disagreement, and thus to distinguish truth from false hood. Judge not
according to the appearance. (John 7)
9) To form an opinion; to bring to issue the reasoning or deliberations
of the mind. If I did know the originals, I should not be able to judge,
by the copies, which was Virgil and which Ovid. (Dryden)
10) To hear and determine, as in causes on trial; to pass sentence.
He was present on the bench, but could not judge in the case. The Lord
judge between thee and me. (Genesis 16)
11) To discern; to distinguish; to consider accurately for the
purpose of forming an opinion or conclusion. Judge in yourselves; is it
comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? (1 Corinthians 11)
Only one of these eleven definitions describes an activity which
we should not engage in and it involves the way in which one judges, that
is "rashly" or "severely." It should not be surprising that the example
used for this definition is our oft-quoted, Judge not, that ye be not judged,
which appears in Matthew 7:1 and again in Luke 6:37.
In both cases, if we read the very next verse, it becomes apparent
that, contrary to modern day usage, we are being cautioned about how we
must judge (fairly, not rashly or severely, according to God's Word, as
we will be judged); We are not being instructed not to judge.
Matthew 7:2 explains; For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall
be judged and Luke 6:37-38 goes on to say..."condemn not, and ye shall
not be condemned: forgive and ye shall be forgiven...For with the same
measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."
These passages, along with many others, provide us with a textbook
on how, what and when to "judge." The most classic and moving example of
our Father's intent with regard to "how" we are to judge is to be found
in the Book of Job.
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, Job's friends, judged him and determined
that the negative circumstances which had befallen Job were proof that
Job was involved in some secret evil for which he must repent. Bildad concludes,
after a lengthy dissertation on the plight of Job, Surely such are the
dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not
God. (Job 18:21)
Job responds with, "How long will ye vex my soul, and break me
in pieces with words?...Know not that God hath overthrown me, and hath
compassed me with his net. Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard:
I cry aloud, but there is no judgement..." (Job 19:2, 6-7)
What is it that Job desires? He desires judgement; that is, he
wants to be fairly evaluated because he feels he will be redeemed as a
righteous man. Job wants to be judged by his actions, or fruits, as the
Scriptures instruct us to do: Little children, let no man deceive you:
he that doeth righteousness is righteous (1 John 3:7) Ye shall know them
[false prophets] by their fruits. (Matthew 7:1) Every good tree bringeth
forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (Matthew
7:17) Job does not want to be judged by his situation. Again the Bible
clearly guides us in this respect. Judge not according to the appearance,
but judge righteous judgment. (John 7:24)
This message is confirmed in another Bible story which is quoted
out of context by the majority of preachers. In the parable of unclean
foods (Acts 11:5-18), Peter was instructed not to judge people by
whether they were circumcised or not, but to carry the Gospel to all people,
because God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. (Acts 11:18)
We are not to judge others by the meats or foods they eat or
drink and is clearly shown: Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for
your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your
body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body
than raiment? (Matthew 6:25)
Are We To Judge? - Part 2 (Last
One)
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What
shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (Matthew 6:31) I know,
and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself:
but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
(Romans 14:14) Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or
in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days. (Colossians
2:16)
We cannot know God's plan, who he has chosen as a messenger or
to whom he has granted grace nor are we to speculate, as Job's friends
did. We are, however, clearly instructed to judge all situations, all doctrines
and all people to determine if they are good or bad and we are further
instructed to separate ourselves from, to beware of, the "bad" person or
situation. "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14);
"...He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father
and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine,
received him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that
biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." (2 John 9:11); "...we
command you, brethren, on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw
yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the
tradition which he received of us. (2 Thessalonians 3:6) And if any man
obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with
him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish
him as a brother." (2 Thessalonians 3:14-15)
Having established that we are not only expected to judge but
we are expected to act upon the judgements we make, it is critical to search
the Scriptures for "rules" to guide us in this endeavor. For God's plan
is very clear and simple. He expects us to look within and judge ourselves
first. Then we are to judge people by their "fruits," not by appearances.
We are always to employ the same standard or means of evaluation and that
standard is to be God's Holy World.
1) God exhorts us to always "judge" ourselves, to "clean up our
own act," first, before we judge or criticize others..."cast out the beam
out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote
out of thy brother's eye." (Matthew 7:5)
It goes without saying that we must, in all situations, make
every effort first, to rectify our fault in the matter. This does not,
however, mean that you can't judge until you're perfect; It does not mean
you should continue to associate with a chronic liar because on your last
escapade together you also told a lie. You must fix your behavior but you
must also "judge" the value of having a relationship with such a person.
(God's Word tells us, "Make no friendship with an angry man...lest thou
learn his ways..." (Proverbs 22:24-25); The Israelites were told to kill
all the Canaanites so they would not learn their ways. In other words,
we become like those people we associate with and in this example you would
become a liar.
2) God instructs us to judge people by their "fruits." Webster's
1828 dictionary defines this type of "fruit" as "that which is produced"
(i.e. The fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, and righteousness, and
truth. Ephesians 5), the "effect or consequence" (i.e. They shall eat the
fruit of their doings. Isaiah 3), or the "Advantage, profit, or good derived"
(i.e. What fruit had ye then in those things where of ye are now ashamed?
Romans 6).
Essentially this means we are to judge people by their actions,
what they cause or bring about, and what a person receives as a result
of his actions. For instance, the words of a preacher or teacher have a
direct effect on those "learning" from them, therefore their words must
be judged. A politician who says one thing and does something entirely
different must be judged not by what he says he will do but by what he
does do. A person who profits from wrongdoing and apologizes but does not
return the profit should be judged by the action of non-repentance not
the words of repentance.
This can often be very difficult but we must remain vigilant
in our efforts to judge people by their fruits. God offers us many additional
guidelines in this area: "If any man love the world, the love of the Father
is not in him." (1 John 2:15); "Who is a liar but he that denieth the Jesus
is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the son."
(1 John 2:22); "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that
is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the
spirit of error." (1 John 4:6); "Fools make a mock at sin: but among the
righteous there is favor." (Proverbs 14:9)
Think of the many advertising slogans which use word like "sinfully
delicious" to sell products.
As you read your Bibles, both Old and New Testaments, you will
discover many more ways in which the "fruits" of man may be known.
3) God admonishes us not to judge by appearances..."Look not
on his countenance, or on the height of his stature...for man looketh on
the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7);
"Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgement." (1
John 7:24)
In this world people are often respected if they drive an expensive
car and yet our Bible tells us that it is more likely that a rich person
is sinful than that he is righteous..."It is easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God."
(Matthew 19:24) We must not, as Job's friends did, assume that a person
is sinful because they are poor or sick, nor should we assume that a rich
person is evil. We must always judge people by their "fruits."
4) God demands that the same standard be used to judge all people
all actions and all situations..."with righteousness shall be judge the
world, and the people with equity." (Psalm 98:9); "But with righteousness
shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth..."
(Isaiah 11:4); "Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgement, in meteyard,
in weight, or in measure. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and
a just hin, shall ye have..." (Leviticus 19:35-36)
This is essential since we are often tempted to believe our best
friend is right or it is alright to engage in a particular activity because
it seems like fun even though it may be morally wrong. We must always try
to be as objective as possible. It sometimes helps to ask yourself, If
my daughter, instead of me, was in this situation what would I want her
to do?" or "Would I make the decision tomorrow that I am making today?"
or "If someone other than my best friend said this what would I think?"
or, the best question of all, "If Jesus knocks on my door five minutes
from now, will I try to hide my decision from him or will I feel comfortable
telling him about my decision?"
5) God provided us with the standard by which we are to judge
all things -- His Holy Word. "The word that I have spoken, the same shall
judge him in the last day." (John 12:48) He that saith, "I know him, and
keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
(1 John 2:4); "The commandment is a lamp and the law is light." (Proverbs
6:23)
God gave us his commandments to guide us, to lead us, to allow
us to discern between good and evil, right and wrong. This is precisely
what judging is all about. To stay out of trouble, to be strong and sure
in our convictions, God has taught us to judge people by their fruits according
to his Word. Dr. Spock and the Humanists have taught two generations of
parents "Not to be judgmental." They have raised children who are so oversensitive
that they can't tolerate criticism and yet the Bible teaches us that chastisement
is love, and in order to chastise, we must first judge.
I caution you to Beware of Anyone who tells you not to Judge.
"Judge not, lest ye be judged" is the great deception used by many pastors
to rationalize their offerings of pablum or the "doctrines of devils" and
to disarm Christians in their fight for truth. Remember that some of the
greatest Martyrs of all times died because of those things which Pastors
today call "doctrinal differences." For the sake of "fellowship" we support
those who teach false doctrines and we rationalize our behavior with "judge
not, lest ye be judged."
When we give tithe dollars to mainline
churches because we can't find an "Identity" church to attend, we are supporting,
by our presence and our dollars, the teaching of lies. [Jews are Israel,
the law is done away with, etc]." "...and what communion hath light with
darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14) Wouldn't we be better off worshiping in
our own homes? If we can home-school our children in academic subjects,
we should certainly be able, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to "Home-Church"
our families.
Are the Humanists and Jews sayings, "To each his own," "Do your
own thing," etc., really any different than the out of context "Judge not,
lest ye be judged?" "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?
And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest
matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that
pertain to this life?" (1 Corinthians 6:2-3)
