Matthew 7:1-5 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For
in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure,
it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your
brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can
you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold,
the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own
eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
(NASB)
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 “I wrote you in my letter not to
associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with
the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters,
for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to
you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral
person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a
swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with
judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the
church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the
wicked man from among yourselves.” (NASB)
Hello,
Last week I talked about the dangers of leaving the Biblical
foundation for what is right/wrong. This week I want to extend that discussion
a bit further to a common topic – judgment.
I believe we have a major definitional issue with the word
judgment and how we use it (or in many cases how it is used towards us). There is
a difference between making a judgment and making a statement.
The Bible warns us about judging others or pronouncing judgment
many times – the verses from Matthew 7 above are perhaps the most well-known.
However, the Bible clearly states that we are to label sin
for what it is – sin.
So, how are these different? Judgment involves the heart, a
statement is an objective measurement against an agreed upon standard.
In Matthew 7, the warning about judging is clear – it will
come back. However, what is often overlooked are the verses which follow in the
same thought pattern. Notice that after we address the log in our eye – we are
still to take the speck out of the brother’s eye?! – we are instructed to label
things that are sin as sin, and address them. What we are to be careful is
judging motive, intention etc – those things do not move towards removing sin.
We are to address our sin issues, and then also address those of our
brothers/sisters near us.
1 Corinthians 5 gives even more precision/clarity – God will
judge those who do not claim Him…that time is coming! But those on the inside
of the church who do claim God, we are to hold to the Biblical standard and not
tolerate sin. We are to help one another break free of sinful addictions, and
keep focused on doing what is honoring to God.
So – why does the world view things as judging, when we don’t
feel we are judging? I believe it is because we make a statement that measures
against the Bible as our standard…..but that standard is not accepted by
others. When those we talk with do not have the same standard, that makes our
statement appear to be judgmental.
I believe there are two challenges for us in this today:
- Call sin for what it is according to the Bible and deal with it, get rid of it. (Yes, we must read our Bibles regularly to stay in touch on this one – and also remember our motive for labeling sin and dealing with it is not out of pride, but out of love for what Jesus did on the cross)
- When you are discussing scenarios with those who may be non-believers, communicate the standard you are using (we cannot use any other standard – see last weeks devo to tie that together). This will add clarity, and provide an opening for a critical end of the conversation – who is God.
Have a blessed day,
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