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Writer's pictureLisa Metzger

Do you hesitate to judge?

I see far too much hesitation from Believers to silently tolerate that which Jesus would not. Not only are they operating from a place of godless fear of man, but they are disobeying a command from Jesus to judge righteously (John 7:24).


Sinful Sensitivity - The sensitivity to not offend is a symptom of this hedonistic generation. The last virtue of a wicked society is tolerance. A sinner will throw away all the Bible, but still quote, "Judge not that ye be not judged." ~ Michael Pearl

Everyone Judges


We make hundreds of necessary judgments every single day. Some judgments are simplistic, while others are more complicated. But the only judgments which invoke the "judge not" knee-jerk reaction are the judgments that bring about conviction or cause offense.


What we must realize is that God seeks to correct and convict, and He often uses His children to bring attention to the subjects in question. Correction and conviction can be uncomfortable, both to the messenger and to the recipient, but nevertheless righteous judgments should be MADE and RECEIVED according to the standards Jesus has set.


Judging vs. Condemning


Christians can make judgments, using the Word of God as a standard of measuring the observed actions of another. But they cannot condemn that person being judged.


A brief but helpful introduction is the article, ''Two Kinds of Judging," which concludes:


God judges in the temporal arena, and the eternal. In this life God will judge a person's actions, but always (except when the person has irrevocably rejected Him) holds out the chance for turning back and repenting. Only on the Last Day, at the great white throne judgment will God pronounce eternal judgment on a person, forever determining his or her destinies. From this judgment, there is no appeal or second chance.


The Christian, on the other hand, is never given the right or the responsibility of eternally judging anyone (unless they have clearly rejected Christ permanently). Christians cannot correctly weigh action, motives, opportunities, nor know all things about any individual: God alone is capable to do so.


However, Christians are to make decisions (appraisals, discernments, and even take corrective actions). But even judging in this aspect is intended to be remedial, and leaves the door open to the person for repentance and reconciliation. Any judging on the part of a Christian which does not, is a false aspect of Christian judgment. We are called upon to ''judge righteous judgment'' (John 7:24) and failure to do so is to be negligent in a crucial aspect of our Christian calling.


Above All


As Christians, we should learn to make righteous judgments, confront sin, and then also receive correction. To push any of this aside for the sake of loving comfortably will result in tougher correction from God, because of our disobedience or harboring of offense.

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