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June 2, 2013 |
| Judging | ||
Many people quote Matthew 7:1 but few understand it
1 Judge not lest you be judged
1 You shall not judge, for fear that you will be judged
On the face of it this verse seems quite clear but when we look around the Bible we see that God gave the Israelites a law and prescribed penalties for breaking that law and judges to interpret the law. How can it be that God gave these and then said don't judge. We also see that Paul judges people.
This leaves a lot of people confused. In this lesson we will take a look at judging and what is meant by this verse.
The first thing that must be understood is that the Bible uses the verb to judge in a slightly different way than we do in society today. It is a small difference but it turns out to be important.
We use the word judge in a wider sense than the Bible does. We think of it more as an accused person facing his accuser and accusations and in the sense of assembling all the facts and weighing them. We are of course aware that the point of this weighing is to come to a decision but we use the word judge to describe the process of the decision making. When the decision comes we are less likely to say that "he was judged innocent" but instead we say "he was found to be innocent", "the verdict was guilty", or "he was acquitted". Therefore when people in our society say "Judge not lest you be judged" they really mean "don't you accuse me" or "don't you present evidence against me".
But the Bible uses the word judge to refer to only the decision and penalty. So the verse above could be clarified by writing it this way.
1 You shall not make decisions and prescribe penalties for others for fear that decisions will be made about you and penalties prescribed
This seems like a small difference but it eliminates this verse from being used as a cover for doing wrong. When we understand that the verse is not including accusations the seeming contradictions makes more sense. It is our job to show others in the faith community when they are doing wrong.
I hesitate to use the word "accuse" above because it has such negative connotations, connotations of finger pointing, and aggressive (in your face) voice and body posture. But an accusation doesn't have to be that way and shouldn't be that way. A kind voice can be used and words can be chosen that appeal to the listener1.
Now we understand that this verse does not stop us from telling others in the faith community when they are doing something wrong. But it still seems to say that our whole legal system should be shut down. If our judges are not to make decisions and determine penalties why have a legal system, and really, why have a law.
The verses that follow our key verse shed light on what Jesus meant.
2 For with the judgment that you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure that you measure, it will be measured to you.
Verse 2 expands on the point and the following verses provide examples. Also remember here how the Bible is using the word judge. Therefore verse 2 is saying "the same sense of fair justice that you apply in your decisions about others will be applied to decisions about you". The point is that there is a question to be asked, being an imperfect being how can your decisions be fair and just? And the answer to the question came in verse 1 "Do not judge others."
This seems to reinforce the idea that we should not make judgments about others ever in any circumstance. Many commentators have a problem at this point. How do you reconcile God giving laws and prescribing penalties with the idea that we are not to judge? Many choose to interpret these verses to be a reference to harsh judgments. So the message they pull from these verse is that we should not judge others harshly. But this adds a condition that does not exist in the verses. Even the example verses are not related to harshness of judgment but instead to fairness and justice.
Here are the verses that Jesus uses as supporting examples to his point
3 Why do you notice a chip that is in your brother's eye, and you do not observe the plank that is in your own eye?
4 Or how do you say to your brother, 'Let me cast out the chip from your eye', and behold, a plank is in your eye?
5 Hypocrite! First cast out the plank from your eye, and then you will see to cast out the chip from your brother's eye.
As you can see the examples are summarized by the first word in verse 5, "Hypocrite." The examples are plainly asking how you can be fair and just when you are just as guilty if not more. The remainder of verse 5 makes the point that when you are perfect you will be able to judge fairly and justly.
This seems to leave us at an impasse with no way to resolve the contradiction between God given laws, penalties, and judges and these verses that say do not judge. The solution comes from a completely different book of the Bible, from James 4.
11 Do not speak against each other, my brethren, for he who speaks against his brother or judges his brother speaks against The Written Law, and judges The Written Law; if you judge The Written Law, you are not a doer of the law, but its judge.
12 One is he who lays down The Written Law and judgment, who is able to give life and to destroy. Who are you who are judging your neighbor?
The NIV says it this way
11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you - who are you to judge your neighbor?
Now we see that the verses are not about judging generally but about judging in the place of God, making decisions and specifying penalties as though we were God. An example will make this clear. This is the kind of judgment that we are not to make.
"I know he says he's a Christian but I saw what he did and he's going to Hell for that"
Paul makes the same point in Roman's 14 that James made in chapter 4.
4 Who are you to judge a Servant who is not yours? For if he stands, he stands to his Master, and if he falls, he falls to his Master, for it is appointed to his Master to be able to establish him.
Therefore it is not for us to judge in God's realm. But we are called to judge in our realm, the physical realm. In most cases both realms have jurisdiction but there is no conflict because the accusation is different, the evidence is different, and the judgment is different. An example would be murder. Both God's law and man's law say you shall not murder. Man judges and, if appropriate, applies the penalty prescribed in his law. God also judges and does according to his will.
But some cases are entirely in God's realm. An example would be taking the Lord's name in vain.
The reader of Paul's epistles needs to be careful to watch which realm Paul is talking about. An example comes from these verses in 1 Corinthians 5
12 For what business have I to judge outsiders? Judge the insiders.
13 But God judges the outsiders; remove the evil one from your midst.
These verses complete a point that Paul is making about people he has told the Corinthians they should not be associating with. Among their brethren is a person who is doing what is wrong. Paul judges but it is an earthly realm judgment as seen from the penalty or corrective action "kick the evil one out".
Sometimes it may appear that Paul is judging in God's realm, but a careful reader will see that he is not. These verses from 1 Corinthians 6 show this
8 But you are doing wrong and you are cheating even your brothers.
9 Or do you not know that evil men do not inherit The Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; no fornicators, neither worshipers of idols, neither adulterers, neither sexual molesters, neither males lying down with males, 10 Neither frauds, nor thieves, neither drunkards, nor the insolent, neither extortioners; these do not inherit The Kingdom of God.
What might appear to be a judgment in God's realm is not. Paul is not rendering judgment on some person but quoting God's word. God has said that evil men do not inherit the Kingdom of God. Paul might have detailed his message more by saying "those whom God has judged to be fornicators, idol worshippers, etc. will not inherit the Kingdom of God"
In God's realm God judges the heart, whether it is his or not. Man cannot judge this way. But evil men sometimes want to. We see an example of this in John 8. The Jews wanted to judge Jesus as a sinner but they knew it would be wrong to do so. To get around this they had found a way to judge a man without making it sound like a judgment. They did this by asking the judgment as a question - sort of like Jeopardy.
46 "Who among you is convicting me of sin? And if I speak the truth, why do you not believe me?"
47 "Whoever is from God hears God's words; therefore you are not hearing, because you are not from God."
48 The Jews answered and they were saying to him, "Are we not saying correctly that you are a Samaritan and have a demon in you?"
49 Yeshua said to them, "A demon is not in me, but I honor my Father and you dishonor Me."
50 "But I am not seeking my glory; There is One who seeks and judges."
In the verses leading up to and including 46 and 47 Jesus has been reasoning with them about the evil in them. They've heard about all of that they can take. In verse 46 Jesus asks who is convicting him of sin (judging him guilty of sin). Then he reasons "if I'm telling you the truth, why don't you believe me." Then he answers his own question by saying "You do not believe me because you cannot hear me. If you were from God you would hear; therefore you are not from God"
In verse 48 they respond with their judgment in the form of a question "Are we incorrect to say that you are a sinner (Samaritan) and have a demon in you?"
Jesus knows their evil hearts and the clever words they think they have concocted. In verse 49 he says "I have honored my Father [by honoring you] but you have dishonored me." This appears to be a reference to the 5th commandment in its fullness.
Then verse 50 takes us back to our topic. Essentially he says "What I do is not done to glorify myself. Only God seeks that glory and only God judges in the way you have judged me".
1 Colossians 4 6 And your words should always be with grace, as if seasoned with salt, and be aware how it is appropriate for you to answer each man.