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170: Judge Not, That Ye Be Not Judged
When should we judge and not judge? Is our judgment rash or righteous?
Pastor Jeff Christianson brings to light Matthew 7:1-5. He also expressed his thoughts about how we should learn to judge God's way. Listen to the full episode and learn more about distinguising between rash, sinful judgments and righteous, godly judgments.
In this episode, Pastor Jeff Christianson provides a review on the booklet by Lou Priolo, "Judgments: Rash or Righteous (Resources for Biblical Living)."
I do like how rash judgment and the commandment to never bare false witness against anyone go hand in hand. I never made those connections, but it is making a false account, whether good or evil, towards someone. James definitely comes to mind one the topic of “favorable judgments” letting the rich man sit is a good place, and the poor man to sit at the feet.
Isaiah 11:3-4 was a powerful verse of the character of Christ – who will judge in fairness and righteousness. He knows all and sees all and can judge all with righteousness. I think counseling is highly dependent upon God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit for that discernment in when to judge and what to judge in righteousness.
I definitely have made rash judgments in my lack of understanding – it is never fun to feel foolish once I realize I was wrong. Thank you, Jeff, for that reminder to be careful not to judge without knowing the whole truth.
That’s helpful. Reflecting on when and how and what we can and cannot judge. Because clearly there will be a need for discernment in biblical counselling with those counseled. And that’s why it’s so critical to rely on the Holy Spirit to bring heart matters to light precisely because I won’t know them and the person may also be deceived.
And I can see how this will be very helpful in helping those counseled in their own relationships with others and applying this break – is this a righteous or rash judgement?
Yes. I find it critical, not just in counseling, but also in my daily life. I often make rash judgments and I pay the penalty for my foolishness quickly! Humility is the key to leaning on God’s understanding rather than mine own.
Each one of these episodes seem to cut directly to an area that I have needed encouragement; and this one is no exception. I have a friend who I was speaking with recently, and the topic of Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice came up. In a snap judgment, my friend said something to the effect of “Oh, if they support abortion they are going to Hell!” This exclamation surprised me. I then kindly called him out for saying this. I said, while I am 100% Pro-Life, someone being Pro-Choice is not a condition for Salvation. Is it sinful to support abortion? Yes. But, is it a sin so great that it cannot be forgiven by God? By no means, whatsoever. I have seen this type of rash judgement become evermore common throughout our nation and sadly the church. So, this episode was a great reminder of how to navigate these situations and conversations.
Yes and how sad that those rash judgments could potentially push an unbeliever away from Christ.
Mh. Wow. I wonder if I have ever made an assumption/rash judgement like that before. I’m starting to question how much I live in self-righteousness now!
I agree with you 100%, abortion is murder, therefore a sin, but it does not throw out salvation for someone who may support it. I think that’s where asking them questions really helps so that we can better understand what they are understanding, and in a case for a Christian, help them to understand the God whom we are called to serve.
Loved this podcast. This reminded me of when someone on my worship team had made a rash judgement of me. It was very hurtful when I found out, and it was damaging to our whole team. When I sat down to talk with them, with our music pastor there I had found that I was just as guilty of making a rash judgement about them. This talk allowed us to see each other for who we really were, and our love for Christ, and it allowed for the Lord to heal that relationship and strengthen our team. Satan loves to divide, and it is easy to think that we have our lives so together that we have the right to make judgements about others. This has taught me to be slow to judge, and patiently listen and just love others.
Thank you for sharing Angela. It reminded me of the same thing of being falsely judged and how it divides. I had to take the situation to the Lord and examine my own heart to not in turn do the same to them because I was so hurt. It has taken time, but the Lord has shown them the truth and is restoring our relationship.
One more point that Pastor Jeff alluded to which is passing either negative or positive judgement based on social media. The point was so true. We can judge success based on what views, likes and shares are attached to videos or size of the crowds, but do we consider or judge success by Gods Word? We can make some popular names our standard for measuring success or fruitfulness while condemning ourselves because we do not appear comparable but if we consider that Jesus said many in that day will say did I not prophesy in thy name and cast out devils and Jesus will say I never knew you. We have to truly judge righteous judgement and leave the judgement to God who knows a man ‘s heart. Keeping the truth that God sees the heart will also keep us pure in our motives and honest before God. Scripture must remain our standard for judgement and not another source.
Jocelyn, you are so right. How can we use our judgments on others when we to fall short. It reminds me of the part of Scripture where Jesus tells the crowd surrounding the woman who is about to be stoned “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” John 8:7
God already knows our hearts, when we come into counsel with others, we will draw from God to be able to minister and not our own judgments.
There is so much to say after listening to this podcast and especially after the BCA zoom meeting last Thursday on this topic. For me it was a time for self introspection and repentance for being guilty of rash judgements. Judging by appearance is so dangerous and we convince ourselves that we are right and true and forget that only God truly knows the heart of a man. We can’t even judge based on past experiences we may have had with someone and let that be the basis for judging another. I am not able to know hearts and thoughts so I’m better handing all matters of judgement over to God. He knows what is truth. As Pastor Jeff pointed out much of our judgements are made based on our standards, our preferences, our self. We become the measuring stick and not the Word of God. This is such a needed teaching for the body of Christ that I am definitely going to get that book by Dr. Priolo so that I can share with my church family. If we practice righteous judgement I can see how this will positively impact relationships of all types.
Boy you hit the nail on the head with not judging even based on past experiences. It’s easy to let self judge and think “here we go again”, but it may not be that case at all. I have to let go of the past and focus on the Lord and what He has to say to me.
You are right the word of God is the measuring stick. And as pastor jeff said if it’s not delineated in scripture as sin I have no business calling it sin. I think this will be very helpful for me and those counselled.
Very well said Jocelyn. This is an area constantly before me and something that is so prevalent in our society. If we can put someone in a specific category then it’s easier to “figure them out.” I try to look on the bright side with people, but I am seeing that I may actually be covering things up. I have to continually remember to ask the Holy Spirit to give me his heart for people.