Saturday, July 9, 2011

Define Judging Please!


Define the judging we are and are not to do.
Is this about condemnation verses discernment??

DO NOT JUDGE
Mt 7:1-2 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged.”

Jn 8:15 “You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. Jn 8:16 But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.” That's pretty plain!

Jn 12:47 “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.”

Lk 6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.”

Ro 2:1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Ro 14:1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2 One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. (Hmm. This sounds like humanism!) 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written: “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’ ” 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.

1Co 4:3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. (What about Lk 12:57 and 1 Cor 11:13?)

Jas 4:11 Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him 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?

JUDGE
Judging myself:
Lk 12:57 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?”

1Co 11:13 Judge for yourselves.

Judging those in the church – but not the world:
1Co 5:12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

Judge those in the church AND the world: AND the angels:
1Co 6:1 If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 5 Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?

1Co 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.

Rev 20:4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.

All of Jude:
How can we know who to “snatch” if we haven’t judged?
Jude 1:22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

How can we do this unless we have already “judged”?:
Gal 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.

Mt 7:15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. …17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
This tells me that we can know if a person is a follower of Jesus Christ by their behavior or by what they "produce."