Should Christians Judge

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]here are many people in church trying to get away with wickedness in the church. Those people will always tell you that it’s not our place to judge. If you claim to be a follower of Christ then remember these verses:

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?

1 Corinthians 5:12 NIV

Jesus didn't teach not to judge about important matters. He taught how to judge.

Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.

John 7:24 NIV

So, by now you may already be thinking, “Wait a minute, Jesus specifically said ‘do not judge’.” If you thought this then you are correct, Jesus did say this, but at the same time you have just proven something obvious and important. If you just disagreed with my statements then you have just made a judgment. A judgment is a conclusion, verdict or decision. You have just decided that my statements are incorrect.

It is clear that Jesus said, “Do not judge.” It is also clear that He said, “Judge correctly.” Is Jesus contradicting Himself? Did the people who wrote the bible get it wrong? The answer to both of those questions is no. If we have a problem with judging it is because we have not taken a deeper look into scripture. If we study the scriptures further we can then get to the truth concerning judging matters within church. We confuse judging with condemning. Making a decision about something is not the same as condemning. To condemn is to carry out a sentence against someone such as excommunication or imprisonment or beating or death. A clear example of this is found in the story of the woman caught in adultery.

3. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4. and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" 6. They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. 7. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8. Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" 11. "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

John 8:2-11 NIV

As much as I hate to admit it, the teachers of the law were correct in judging that she was an adulterer but they tried to take matters into their own hands and condemn the woman to death by stoning. They weren't qualified to condemn. They were also guilty and they left. Jesus also said that He didn't condemn her (stone her) but He told her to stop sinning. Jesus judged her, but He did not condemn her. Those men who judged the adulteress were judged also and that's why they walked away. They were judged by the same measure they judged her. We can’t take matters into our own hands. We can and should be the judge in church matters, but we can't be the executioner. All we can do is walk away. Do you still disagree? Well, you’re still judging.

As Christians we can judge but cannot condemn. Jesus said that He didn't come to condemn. If He condemned everyone in His day based on His judgments then bodies would have been dropping all over the gospels.

One of the lessons Jesus gave on judging is found in Mathew chapter seven:

1. Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Mathew 7:1-2 NIV

When Jesus said do not judge He said if you judge you will also be judged by the same measure you used. If you judge fairly and truthfully, then you will be fairly and truthfully judged. If you judge someone and say they are a thief and they are in fact a thief, yet you are a thief yourself then God will make sure someone judges you as a thief. Both judgments are true and both judgments are fair. Judgment is not inherently bad. If you witness someone committing murder and you tell that person, “You are a murderer", then you have judged correctly. If you are not a murderer and don’t practice living in sin then you have nothing to fear. You might be guilty of something else, but as long as you are honest about your shortcomings and don’t try to condemn someone for their sin then you should be in good shape. You can judge correctly or incorrectly. Judge correctly and make sure you're not being a hypocrite.

We make judgments every day. It’s part of life. We see someone doing a kind act and we say, “That was nice.” We see a baby laughing and we say, “That’s cute.” You watch, “The Voice”, and say, “That girl can sing”! The judges decide who will win. These are all judgments. Refusing to judge at all in matters in church directly affecting and concerning you just makes you luke warm. The next time you say, “It’s not my place to judge", is it because you have poor judgment or is it because you refuse to take the plank out of your own eye and don't want to be exposed?

Read the bible. Don't depend on others to read it and interpret it for you. Read it and judge for yourself. But make sure you judge correctly!

15. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 16. "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:15-16 NIV