To Judge or Not to Judge

"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" 

John 7:24

This is an old argument and yet it remains relevant today.  We engage in judgment every day. We judge quality and quantity. We judge content and context. We judge people.  We judge distance and time. We categorize and summarize. Everyone with a mind engages in judgment.

We also engage in judgment concerning good and evil, right and wrong, and saved and lost. We all have some standard by which we make these judgments. Then there are those who make these judgments according to their own corrupted ideology.  The bible tells us the unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit — God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion.  The person who does not have the spirit of God residing with in does not have the capability to make right spiritual judgments. 

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for We are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because we are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man"   1 Corinthians 2:14-15

On the other hand, we have those who have stepped into the arena of sanctimonious or self-righteousness and they also judge according to their biased standard.

For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.  Romans 10:3

Righteousness comes only through God.  The standard by which most judge is usually based on outward appearance, sincerity, and/or reputation. They judge themselves and others to be in God's favor based on their supposed "good deeds" while judging others to be out of God's favor based on the others' "bad deeds." Jesus exposed this self-righteous judgment in the Sermon on the Mount: 

"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again"   Matthew 7:1-2

In view of this, what does God require of those who are filled with His Holy Spirit? Does God say that, since by nature all men judge by the wrong standard, His people are to refrain from judging? No, that is not what God is saying.  His word states the exact opposite: the people of God are to make spiritual judgments. We are to be a judging people.

There are many people today who think it is humble and pious to say things like: 

          "I can't judge. I don't know their hearts." 
          "I can't be sure. I'm not the Holy Spirit."
          "I leave the judging to God." 

But what does God's Word have to say regarding this?  In the same chapter in which Jesus forbade self-righteous judgment, He said, 

"Give not that which is holy unto dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest We trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you" Matthew 7:6 

and

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.   A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. ... Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them"   Matthew 7:15-20  

How are we to know who the swine, dogs, and false prophets are without judging? Notice that Jesus did not say, "Give not that which is holy unto those whom you think are probably dogs...  or Beware of those whom you think are probably false prophets... or Ye shall have a pretty good chance of being right if you look at their fruits." No! He said, "Ye SHALL know them." We SHALL know who the dogs, swine, and false prophets are. We SHALL know the state of their hearts.

God commands us, 

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers"  2 Corinthians 6:14 

How can we obey this commandment if we can never be sure whether or not someone has an unbelieving heart? Notice that God did not say, "Do not be bound together with those who you think have a high probability of being unbelievers." God is stating that we will know who the unbelievers are and that we are not to be bound together with them. He goes on to mention unrighteousness, darkness, Belial, infidels, and idols as those things with which the believer is to have no fellowship.

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.   2 Corinthians 6:14-16  

Judgment of what unrighteousness, darkness, Belial, infidels, and idols are is an absolute necessity for God's people in order for us to 

"come out from among them, and be ye separate" and to "touch not the unclean [thing]"  2 Corinthians 6:17 

If you will not judge saved and lost, how can you:  . . . 

"Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.    Revelation 18:4

God commands us, 

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world"   1 John 4:1 

It cannot be clearer. God's people are to judge between false and true prophets. And we shall be able to know whether they are from God.

How is this possible? After all, we can't read people's minds. We can't directly see people's hearts. No, but Jesus states that we can judge the heart by judging the direct channel that comes from the heart: the mouth. After stating that 

"every tree is known by his own fruit"   Luke 6:44 

Jesus states what that fruit is: 

"for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh" Luke 6:45 

We judge the heart by what proceeds from the mouth. The words spoken are the fruit or the state of the heart.

But is this talking about just any words? Does this mean, for example, that if someone utters a vulgarity we are to judge the person unregenerate? Here is where righteous judgment comes in. The standard that the true believer uses to judge the saved and lost is by the Gospel of Jesus.

There are two types of speech by which we judge a person to be lost. The first is 

     Ö     speech that confesses a false  is wrong:   

As we said before , so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received , let him be accursed."  Galatians 1:9 

"Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God"   2 John 9 

Confession of a false gospel is a confession that any part of salvation is conditioned on the sinner. It opposes the true gospel of salvation conditioned on the atoning blood and imputed righteousness of Christ alone. 

It is speech that denies Christ: 

Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.  Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.  1 John 2:22-23; 

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.  1 John 4:3 

It is speech that denies one's own sinfulness:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.  1 John 1:8,10

It is confessed by those who, 

"being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God"   Romans 10:3

The second is 

     Ö     speech that tolerates and endorses a false gospel by: 

". . . saying, Peace, peace; when [there is] no peace" (Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11). 

He who calls one who confesses a false gospel his "brother in Christ" speaks the lie of Satan: 

"Ye shall not surely die"  Genesis 3:4  

He "speaks great swelling [words] of vanity"   2 Peter 2:18 

God makes it very clear that he who speaks peace to one who confesses a false gospel "is partaker of his evil deeds."  

For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.  2 John 11

These are those who judge saved and lost not by right gospel doctrine but by outward appearance, morality, sincerity, and reputation.

What do we say of those who are not producing good fruit?  Are believers then to judge that these people are reprobate (i.e., destined for hell)? Absolutely not!  We cannot judge their eternal destiny by these words; this is only known by God. We are only to judge that they are now nonconforming to God. God may very well save some of these lost people who believe, confess, and tolerate a false gospel; some of them might be among God's elect.  One thing is sure: if God saves them, they will no longer believe, confess, and tolerate a false gospel! Upon repentance and conversion, God causes His people to believe and confess the one and only true gospel.  We can look to Saul turned Apostle Paul who was in such a state.

To most, this method of judgment sounds rather silly.  "You mean to tell me that you judge someone as lost who doesn't have his doctrine just right?" In the area of the doctrine of Christ, which is the gospel, the Bible answers, “yes?" The Bible does not make belief in right gospel doctrine a condition of salvation but it does make belief in right gospel doctrine an inevitable and immediate result of salvation and a fruit by which we judge saved and lost.

Are you one who opposes God's word by saying that you cannot judge saved and lost? I believe that most of you who say this does judge saved and lost in some instances based on some standard. If you see a woman who prostitutes herself, would you say, "Well, I can't really judge her heart"? Are you one who judges by the wrong standard? Are you one who confesses a false gospel? Are you one who tolerates and/or promotes those who confess a false gospel? Or are you one who judges saved and lost based on God's word and will not speak peace when there is no peace?

(Biblical Studies)


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