Hello there! This is my first article on this forum, so I'm a bit nervous about the replies.

I'm posting this article in order to get feedback on it. Please excuse my English a bit, I'm a Norwegian :)
Edifying comments and discussion wanted!


Judge Not! Or. . .?
By Svane

''Do not judge'' is a common saying. It is a defensive expression, often used to justify oneself and retaliate against the «judge». It has become a very efficient method indeed. One outstanding example is Christians who use this to defend their lifestyles. They often come out winning if one tries to point out their need for repentance.
Let us have a look at what Jesus said about this in the Sermon on the Mount:

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘'Let me take the speck out of your eye,’' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. - Matt 7:1-5 NIV

What is Jesus trying to say as a whole here? That we can't say a single sentence to our neighbour/brother/sister to encourage a change? I don't think that's what he meant.

First, help yourself, then help your brother. It's hard to see one's own errors, very easy to see other's. Therefore Jesus is saying: Do not judge if you will fall under the same judgement. First make sure you're standing in that area, then help the brother who has fallen in it.

It is that simple. If a Christian in your congregation is living a life of sexual immorality, make sure you don't before you go to help him out! It's like a teacher critisicing students for not spelling «grateful» right, but then goes ahead to spell it wrong himself.

Brothers, sisters, let's double-check ourselves. Am I right with God in this area? Do I have a plank in my eye? Remove it. Then help your brother who has a speck.


_________________________________________________________________________

I hardly felt worthy to write this since such judgement is an area which is hard to become faultless in. However I believe I understand the principle good enough to pass it on. Take it to heart.

Thank you for reading
- Svane

hi and welcome, the greek krino is the route for judge and we should never krino anyone. a lesser word diakrino...to test and use wisdom is fine and other route words of krino are ascertain or try.condemnation in romans is the word krino...we are never to sit in judgement over anyone.jimp

Hi Svane,welcome, I'm also new here.
___________________________
ABOUT JUDGING

Maybe we often hear, “Judge not, that you may not be judged.” Other thinks that if they will not judge about the sins others do, God will not also Judge them for the sins they practice. But let us examine the full account of the statement Jesus spoke:

Matthew 7:1-6
Judge not, that you may not be judged. For with whatever judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with whatever measure you measure out, it shall be measured to you again. And why do you look on the splinter that is in your brother's eye, but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother, Let me pull the splinter out of your eye; and, behold, a beam is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First cast the beam out of your own eye, and then you shall see clearly to cast the splinter out of your brother's eye. Do not give that which is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and tear you.

Before judging others, see for ourselves if we our qualified, all of us have sinned and therefore no one is qualified to judge. We must judge righteously and lovingly by the grace of God given to us through Jesus Christ. We must take a closer look on ourselves first, purify ourselves more and more. The purpose of judging is to humble one another, and to be protected with deceptions and wrong beliefs which leads to wrong living. Exposing others to the truth (that maybe hard and painful) is also the purpose of judging. Judging may be expressed or not, but it must be righteous.


James 5:9
Do not grudge against one another, brothers, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge stands before the door.

Judging others is dangerous, not only for the accused but for the accuser as well, well if the accusation is wrong the accuser will be the one who will be condemn. But the purpose of judging is not condemnation but for correction. Let us consider this action from our Lord Jesus Christ:

John 8:7
But as they continued to ask Him, He lifted Himself up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.

Here the Pharisees is accusing the woman caught in adultery that she must be stoned to death as it written to the Law of Moses. Well in our generation, to “stone to death” is not 'acceptable' but more often, unaware of it, it is expressed by the fruits of our mouth. Well, of course, God is does not approve adultery(Jesus said to her: “go and sin no more”) , but this woman humbled herself unlike those self-righteous Pharisees. So we must be careful not to fall on that category, for God rejects the proud but gives grace to the humble.


Acts 17:11
And these were more noble than those of Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily to see if those things were so.

Apostle Paul and Silas is also tested if what he's saying is true through the Scriptures. We too must do the same thing. We read, “ they received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily” so we must open to the understanding from the Word and not to the traditional and popular teaching and this cannot be done by just knowing few verses and ignoring other verses from the Bible.

1Corinthians 14:29
And if there are two or three prophets, let them speak, and let the others judge.

Here is commandment that we should judge prophets, to keep us from deception and bondage.

John 7:24
Do not judge according to sight, but judge righteous judgment.

Judging unrighteously and not judging at all are both dangerous. Because if we will not judge every thought, Satan will take advantage of that weakness, that's why there are many false teachings tolerated in Christendom today.

1Corinthians 11:31
For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
2Corinthians 13:5
examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith, prove your own selves. Do you not know your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are reprobates?

The Word of God encourages us to judge oneself, not to the point to condemn/feel guilty every now and then but to be honest to God about our spiritual condition.

1Timothy 5:1
Do not sharply rebuke an elder, but exhort as a father, and the younger ones as brothers,

Here Paul writes to Timothy a young servant of the Lord, “do not sharply rebuke an elder”, he did not write
“do not rebuke an elder” but do it as exhorting as a father and as brother to the younger ones as brothers.

Then if we should rebuke, we must also encourage(exhort), not with flattery but praise which builds us up and give glory to God. I have witnessed praises which are sensual and self-seeking, yet remember “open rebuke is better than secret love”.

1Timothy 5:19-20
Do not receive an accusation against an elder except before two or three witnesses. Those who sin, rebuke before all, so that the rest also may fear.

Then if you have to rebuke an elder, check your motive, do it according to your “faith”. Let our judgment be righteous, a correction and not condemnation.

Let us consider this words from Jesus that is so humble and humiliating:

John 8:16
And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent Me.
John 12:47
And if any one hears My Words and does not believe, I do not judge him, for I do not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

This is not yet the Final Judgment, for Jesus came to save the world, so let us pursue holiness for the coming of the Lord.

Remember Christian life is not just about judging, it is not the whole business but a part of it, we must walk on the True faith.

hi, the greatest warning came from Jesus as the sons of thunder called for revenge andthat fire would fall from heaven... Jesus told them to shut up for they knew not what spirit they were moving in.the accuser of the brethren might be a hint.jimp

We cannot deny that the hard love exercised in raising and correcting our children has become rare. The message of toleration has infiltrated everywhere. Fathers and mothers are being hardened, and the love that should be evidenced by a desire to do what is best for their children, no matter how much pain it may bring the parent, is given way to what causes the parent the least discomfort. This type of love is no love at all. What it is revealed to be, almost no one will accept. So too, this has crept in amongst us and has seeded itself in the church, Infecting her with a disease that is very contagious. It can spread efficiently given the right conditions and it will prove deadly for many. If it were just physical in nature like other diseases, we would contend with it while we could. Worst case, it would die with the corpse, but this disease destroys beyond the grave. It should be classified epidemic at this stage and sound judgement birthed in genuine brotherly love is the prescription given us by God. To hold such a prescription, and not dispense it properly, would be a sin.

Thank you for the replies.

Thanks jimp for coming with the greek words. I'm glad you point out there are different meanings to this.

I agree with you that condemnation is wrong. That is not what I want us to do. What I wanted to point out is that we should, with wisdom, help one another. But first, check yourself. If you have a speck or a plank, you'd better remove that first, or you will only cause bitterness in the one you're accusing. In greek, I suppose that is diakrino?

Thank you joliboy11 for that covering article, I appreciate you took the time to expand the subject. The aim in my article was to keep it simple, but someone must look deeper at it, that's great :) You've done a good job checking up on verses different places in the Bible.

Again jimp, you're right about "the accuser of the brethren". This is why this subject is delicate, it's easy to become a Pharisee.

I like your post lylewise, marriage is not far away from me so bringing up children will be a very important subject. It will be challenging to teach them what's right. Also, I hope I won't cause bitterness in their hearts if I fail to apply this principle of judgement; what if I teach my kids to do something I don't do? Of course, there's grown-up-stuff that they can't participate in, but generally I hope I will show them with my life what I teach them.

- Svane