I was reading Jesus' sermon on the mount in my devotional this morning, and I came across a very common passage that led me to an interesting chain of thought.
The passage was Matthew 7:1 which says in the NASB:
Do not judge so that you will not be judged.
After thinking about it for a while, I came to a very obvious conclusion; God does not want us to judge each other.
The logic is simple: No man wishes to come under the judgement of God, God says in this passage that He will judge anyone who issues judgement against another, therefore when Jesus said these words he meant them as a threat to those who would give judgement. God would only threaten punishment for something if he doesn't want us to do, therefore God doesn't want us to judge one another.
This idea is supported by the whole of scripture but I will attempt to outline it in three points:
I. No man is qualified to judge another.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 3:23
The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God "
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds;
There is no one who does good.
The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who understand,
Who seek after God.
They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one. Psalm 14:1-3
As we can see from these passages, all men are sinners. Utterly depraved of any godliness that might have remained in them. Are these debased, unprincipled men capable of giving a righteous, just, judgement? Absolutely not! The very ideas are opposites, men having their souls seeped in corruptness, and justice having its roots planted in righteousness and a love for God's law. The truth is clear: Men simply don't have the godliness necessary to pass righteous judgement.
II. God wishes his people to be united.
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose
Philippians 2:1-2
Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Romans 12:16
Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus
Romans 15:5
One of the foremost doctrines concerning the relationship of Christians to one another is that of maintaining unity in all circumstances. In all things, Christ wishes his church to be of one mind in all things. It is therefore a contradiction to introduce judgement into the picture. How can the Church of God be unified if God expects them to be judging each other? Also, it is not only judgement that challenges the unity of the church but the byproducts of judgement: pride, haughtiness, factions, disagreements, and strife! Are these the signs of the true church? May it never be! It is obvious that God wishes us to live in unity with one another, and to save ourselves from the perils of exercising judgement on one another.
III. Judgement is solely the duty of God.
And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is judge.
Psalm 50:6
But God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another.
Psalm 75:7
I said to myself, " God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man," for a time for every matter and for every deed is there.
Ecclesiastes 3:17
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect
Hebrews 12:22-23
Finally, the point must be made that the right, privilege, and duty of judging between good and evil is God's alone. Yes, judgement must be made, as it is required by the presence of sin. But, the judgement can only be made by a righteous God. It would be ridiculous to imagine a court that was presided over by the same criminals that it judged. It is just as ridiculous to state that the judging of the actions of a man should be carried out by his fellow man. The gavel of the heavenly court rests eternally in the grasp of the eternal God, and man struggles in vain to wrest it from Him.
To sum up, I must ask my readers why they might wish to judge their fellow man? They should examine themselves carefully, for I would suspect that deep inside, they are suffering not from a love of justice, but a case of pride and vanity. I would encourage in all Christians a spirit of love, not condemnation. A spirit of reaching a hand to help each other up, not that of pointing a finger of accusation. It is only by this, shall the church become everything Christ meant for it when he uttered those all too important words, "Judge not, so you will not be judged".
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All right, if you haven't guessed yet, this isn't for real.
I do think, however, that it is important for Christians to get a firm grasp on the correct interpretation of Matt 7:1 as it is almost famous in its abuse.
So, here's the deal, I wish for all of my readers to comment on what I have written above and give me their best shot on breaking down the arguments presented.
Happy studying, and I'll be looking forward to what you have to say!
4 comments:
Whew! I'm glad you don't agree - I was getting ready to blast you out of the water for heresy. :)
First off, the context of the passage is reffering solely to hipocrisy. If you read on, if my memory serves me correctly, I believe that verses 3-4 talks about removing "the beam in thine own eye" first, etc., a solid indicator that he is talking about hipocrisy.
Also, there is church discipline. Let us say that one Christian can't go a day without calling up frineds and slandering some hated enemy, lets say falsely. It is the church's responsibility to make sure that that person is dealt with - yes, this means judging that person. I could go on, but I think that you get the point.
Cheers!
Good points, Stephen, but not quite good enough.
In point one of my argument I argued that no man is qualified to judge another because of his being totally depraved. I would argue that this argument fits into the context perfectly as it would be hypocrisy for a totally depraved man to judge another totally depraved man.
As to church discipline, I would dispute the fact that it is the church's responsibility to judge anyone. As I showed in point two of my argument, the church's goal is to remain united, not to judge one another. Even in a situation like you mentioned in that the church's unity is being threatened by an individual, I showed in point three of my argument that it is not man's duty to judge, but God's.
I think that you overlooked my points. Allow me to re-iterate them.
In Christ, we are not totally depraved - we "are new creature(s)" - therefore, if you have a Christian who condemns another of continuous, unrepented sin, it is not in hypocrisy as two totally depraved sinners on the same spiritualy dead level; rather, it is biblical reproof and correction from one Christian to another, an admonishment, if you will, for a more righteous lifestyle. This is not hypocrisy, and 2 Thesalonians 3:14-15 re-inforces the point - "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." This is Christian judgement, cause and effect - the man acts like a heathan, banish him from your intimate companionship until his ways change.
As to your support of anarchy in the church, Titus 3:10-11 has a bit on it: "A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself." This, my friend, is judgement. I see that someone who professes to be a Christian does not act like it, I try to help him see his errors, he refuses, and I must reject him. It's plain scripture, and the verses above point it out clearly.
Bravo, Stephen.
The verses authorizing church discipline are indeed a very strong argument against the 'judge not' philosophy presented here.
Ultimately discipline infers judgement, and authorization of discipline is an authorization of judgement.
Good work, you're the first to get a winning argument put together.
Can anyone point out any other holes in the case for 'judge not'?
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