JUDGING OTHERS

Time with Jesus - Monday, 04 February 2013

Hi all,

Judging others is something we are told not to do. We must always distinguish between the sin and the sinner. In other words, if someone is a thief, we must recognise that theft is sin. Sin is always sin except in most unusual circumstances which we can’t go into here. Now let’s look at two individuals. Give them fictitious names; Peter and John. Let’s assume Peter is a member of the body of Christ and John is not. Again let’s assume they are both thieves, having been caught in the very act. What do we do regarding judging? John is not a believer. What he does is no business of yours. He is a sinner. Don’t judge him. Leave that to the Lord.

What about Peter? Paul puts the position to us very clearly in his first letter to the Corinthians. Note what he says about judging. ¹¹ I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don't even eat with such people. ¹² It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. ¹³ God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, "You must remove the evil person from among you." 1 Cor. 5:11-13 NLT

We have become so “scared” of judging others; we have overlooked this clear Scriptural injunction. If a Christian brother or sister is a persistent thief or is regularly indulging in sexual sin, we are supposed to “throw him/her out of the church”! Is it being judgemental? Not according to Scripture. Do we or will we do it? Probably not! We are mostly frightened of being seen as judging others and being told, ¹ "Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Matthew 7:1 NLT

There is also the problem of restoring to fellowship the Christian man or woman who has fallen! It is said that the Christian army is the only one who shoot their wounded! If the person has repented and is trying to get back into fellowship with others, how do we go about restoring him/her?

The problem for all of us is that we are not omniscient. We don’t know the difference between sincerity and dishonesty. Furthermore, we want an answer by yesterday morning. Somehow we have to balance our responsibility toward other Christian believers and the Law Courts. How? The answer is to ask the Lord about what is confronting us. In other words we have to learn to walk in the Spirit. Will we, or won’t we? What do you think?

Blessings,

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Monday, 04 February 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	Judging others
Judging other people; we know we shouldn’t do it. We know it’s forbidden. But most of us do it anyway. Sadly, we have been created a gregarious people. We love to talk – about anything and everything; about anyone and everyone. Prior to the internet, I’m told there were four main means of communication; Telephone, Telegram, Tele-fax and Tele-woman. (Sorry ladies) Speaking of the tongue, Jesus’ half-brother James, had a couple of things to say. One quote is: 7 This is scary: You can tame a tiger, 8 but you can't tame a tongue - it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. James 3:7-8 MSG. This accounts for why there are a number of “silent” orders among the Roman Catholics and Anglicans. The argument is that if you never “speak” your tongue can’t sin. The only way I know whereby a tongue can come under some semblance of control is to hand speech over to the Holy Spirit. So, knowing about our penchant for passing on juicy tid-bits of information about others, how do we deal with judging others? One way is to refuse to listen to anything people wish to say about a situation, unless you are involved in the problem or you are part of the solution. I’ve tried to do this for many years but have not really succeeded. There is another consideration here. Are you judging the person or the situation? For example it is correct for me to say that extramarital relationships are sinful. But to point a finger at John Doe and Jane Citizen, and say he or she is sinful is wrong. By all means judge the sin; but don’t judge the person. Leave the person for God to deal with. I’ve been told on several occasions that if I point a finger at you, there are three of my fingers pointing back at me! In the gospel of John we see this in action by no lesser person than Jesus Christ. 3 The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone 4 and said, "Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. 5 Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?" 6 They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. 7 They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." 8 Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt. 9 Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. 10 Jesus stood up and spoke to her. "Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?" 11 "No one, Master." "Neither do I", said Jesus. "Go on your way. From now on, don't sin." John 8:3-11 MSG Here we see that Jesus was clear in His judgement of the sin. She admitted to the sin. But Jesus didn’t condemn her. He judged the sin but not the sinner. There will come a day when He will do so for each and every one of us. Until that day comes, it’s best left in His capable hands. Christians need to adopt His method in everything they do. Where there is sin, let’s call it sin. Don’t bring any lame excuse for the sin. Let’s call a spade a spade. But having done so, let’s adopt His attitude. Don’t judge the person. Leave that to Him. The truth will be made manifest when He decides. Today’s meditation looks at judging others in more detail. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			26 They gossiped about the one you disciplined, Made up stories about anyone wounded by God Psalm 69:26 MSG 15 And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster. Zech. 1:15 ESV 1 Brothers and sisters, if a person gets trapped by wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should help that person turn away from doing wrong. Do it in a gentle way. At the same time watch yourself so that you also are not tempted. Gal 6:1 GW 20 Realize that whoever brings a sinner back from the error of his ways will save him from death, and many sins will be forgiven. James 5:20 GW 14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 1 Thess. 5:14 NLT 13 Let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put anything in your brother's way that would make him trip and fall. Rom 14:13 NIrV 1 We who have strong faith should help the Rom 15:1 NIrV  6 Love is not happy with evil. But it is full of joy when the truth is spoken. 7 It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up. 1 Cor. 13:6-7 NIrV 12 Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence. 1 Cor. 10:12 MSG	Justice is impossible for folk like you and me. We don’t know what has happened! How can it ever be? What was the person thinking? Why did he take that course? Perhaps it was an accident, or was it done by force? There’s many possibilities. So many reasons why, The man did what they say he did. We cannot even try, To understand the motives deep down within his heart; And in this situation, we surely cannot start, To judge the situation. We can’t pontificate! We may have our suspicions, but none of us can state, That we know why he did it. It’s mostly just a guess. We’re not in a position to comment on the mess. But Jesus Christ knows everything. In fact, He’s always known, The truth about what happened. It’s known to Him alone. He doesn’t need the witnesses. No detail is concealed. And when it comes to judgement, the facts will be revealed. I know I cannot do it. I dare not even try. For if I am in error, then I deserve to die! There’s dreadful implications when judging other folk. It’s better to refer to Him, than wear a Judge’s cloak. Rather beg for mercy, for that is never wrong, And leave the judgment to the Lord, for that’s where it belongs. And when the verdict’s given, don’t ever stand and cheer. Never go beyond that point. Just stand in holy fear. If we exceed the limits of what the Lord has set, The wrath of God will come on us; a sure and certain bet! So when we “deal” with people, let love illuminate, The way ahead for all of us, until the certain date, When Jesus Christ will judge us for all we’ve done and said. It’s better to be lenient and thereby Spirit led. Remember it is possible, for anyone to fall. No one is excluded, or far above it all. So let’s all be more patient and never criticise, Anything that people think; it may be their surmise, Is not what they’ve concocted or drummed up in their head. Perhaps the Lord has hinted at what is still unsaid. Perhaps the Lord is telling you to button up your lip. For if you make a comment, He just may sink your ship! Jim Strickland Written 4th February 2012