To Judge or Not to Judge?

by David Shannon

One of the most frequently discussed Bible topics is that of judgment. Often one is heard saying, "You don't have the right to judge me." Should we or should we not judge?

Jesus taught in John 7:24 "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." Jesus taught in this one verse a time that judgment is wrong and a time that it is right.

It's Wrong to Judge by Appearance: These folks had judged Jesus as a sinner. Their conclusion was not from the law, but from the appearance (popular opinion) of the traditional Jews. Jesus had broken their traditional understanding of the Sabbath, but not God's law of the Sabbath. If we decide what is right or wrong based upon the way it appears to the majority, we will make many mistakes along the way! Remember that Jesus was judged by the majority and condemned! Jesus was the only perfect human that ever lived and we as a human race condemned Him! Judging by what the group thinks is dangerous!

It's Right to Judge Righteously: Let us define "righteousness" and "judgment." "Righteousness" is the right state of which God is the standard. To "judge" is to make decisions of distinction. To judge righteously is to make decisions using God's standard as the distinguishing quality! We can judge a life-style, an action or a word to determine if it is righteous when we know God's standard. Perhaps the reason many struggle to make righteous judgment is because you can't without knowledge of God!

Reminder: It is wrong for us to judge someone's motives or heart. It's wrong to judge from a haughty or hypocritical life (Matthew 7:1-5). On the other hand we are to judge teachers to see if they are true (Matthew 7:15-23) and others actions to see if they need restored (Galatians 6:1). Please realize the most important place to begin is with ourselves. We must first decide to live by God's standard � That is the beginning of "righteous judgment!" Let us listen to what Jesus said about judging, because ...

... without Him we would be nothing!

• "Love Thinketh No Evil" -Jun 26, 2002