���������������������������������������������������������� JUDGE NOT OR NOT TO JUDGE
"Judge not, that ye be not judged." (Matthew 7:1) has become the Great American "Cop‑out;" and is uttered with equal fervor by both Humanists, antichrists and even Christians. Christians have not only allowed our enemies, the Humanists and Jews to steal our Scriptural weapons in the battle against evil, and it would appear, we have also willingly taken up their banner.
God gave the Bible, with His Laws and Statutes recorded therein, so that we can use them to "judge" between good and evil. But the antichrists and all too many Christians say we cannot judge, thus forbidding us to act according to God's Laws and Statutes.
That men have, almost from the beginning, resented being "judged" for their evil, sinful and unGodly acts. For it is clearly seen in Genesis 19:9, "And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow [Lot] came in to sojourn, and he needs be a judge [Preach ‑ Teach God's Laws and Statutes ‑ condemning their sinful acts]: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them [the Angels who had come to visit Lot before God's destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah]..."
Of course men must "judge" and is clearly shown in Exodus 18:13, "And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to JUDGE the people..."
However, we are to "judge" according to God's Laws. "When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and His laws." (Exodus 18:16) This is clearly shown in Leviticus 19:15, "Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor know the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor."
Again we are told: "Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." (1 Samuel 1:17)
���� In 1 Corinthians 6:2‑4: "Do ye not know that the saints [Christians] shall judge the world? and if the world be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church."
���� Our Israel brethren [Anglo‑Saxon, Germanic, Scandinavian, Celtic and kindred people], those brave men and women who first established colonies on the shores of America, were taught God's Laws and were not afraid to judge between persons or doctrines. In fact, they considered it their moral duty to act upon their beliefs which were firmly based upon the Holy Bible. If we desire a rebirth of this great Nation; we, too, must not be afraid to judge.
���� What exactly does it mean to "judge?" Noah Webster, in his 1828 dictionary, offers us eleven uses of the word "judge."
1) To hear and determine a case; examine and decide. Chaos shall judge the strife. (Milton)
2) To try; to examine and pass sentence on. Take ye him and judge him according to your law. (John 18) God shall judge the righteous and the wicked. (Ecclesiastes 3)
3) Rightly to understand and discern. He that is spiritual, judgeth all things. (1 Corinthians 2)
4) To censure rashly; to pass severe sentence. Judge not, that ye be not judged. (Matthew 7)
5) To esteem; to think; to reckon. If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord. (Acts 16)
6) To rule or govern. The Lord shall judge His people. (Hebrews 10)
7) To doom to punishment; to punish. I will judge thee according to thy ways. (Ezekiel 7)
8) To compare facts or ideas, and perceive their agreement or disagreement, and thus to distinguish truth from false hood. Judge not according to the appearance. (John 7)
9) To form an opinion; to bring to issue the reasoning or deliberations of the mind. If I did know the originals, I should not be able to judge, by the copies, which was Virgil and which Ovid. (Dryden)
10) To hear and determine, as in causes on trial; to pass sentence. He was present on the bench, but could not judge in the case. The Lord judge between thee and me. (Genesis 16)
11) To discern; to distinguish; to consider accurately for the purpose of forming an opinion or conclusion. Judge in yourselves; is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? (1 Corinthians 11)
Only one of these eleven definitions describes an activity which we should not engage in and it involves the way in which one judges, that is "rashly" or "severely." It should not be surprising that the example used for this definition is our oft‑quoted, Judge not, that ye be not judged, which appears in Matthew 7:1 and again in Luke 6:37.
In both cases, if we read the very next verse, it becomes apparent that, contrary to modern day usage, we are being cautioned about how we must judge (fairly, not rashly or severely, according to God's Word, as we will be judged); We are not being instructed not to judge.
Matthew 7:2 explains; For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged and Luke 6:37‑38 goes on to say...�condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive and ye shall be forgiven...For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.�
These passages, along with many others, provide us with a textbook on how, what and when to "judge." The most classic and moving example of our Father's intent with regard to "how" we are to judge is to be found in the Book of Job.
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, Job's friends, judged him and determined that the negative circumstances which had befallen Job were proof that Job was involved in some secret evil for which he must repent. Bildad concludes, after a lengthy dissertation on the plight of Job, Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God. (Job 18:21)
Job responds with, �How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?...Know not that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net. Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgement...� (Job 19:2, 6‑7)
What is it that Job desires? He desires judgement; that is, he wants to be fairly evaluated because he feels he will be redeemed as a righteous man. Job wants to be judged by his actions, or fruits, as the Scriptures instruct us to do: Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous (1 John 3:7) Ye shall know them [false prophets] by their fruits. (Matthew 7:1) Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (Matthew 7:17) Job does not want to be judged by his situation. Again the Bible clearly guides us in this respect. Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (John 7:24)
This message is confirmed in another Bible story which is quoted out of context by the majority of preachers. In the parable of unclean foods, (Acts 11:5‑18) Peter was instructed not to judge people by whether they were circumcised or not, but to carry the Gospel to all people, because God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. (Acts 11:18)
We are not to judge others by the meats or foods they eat or drink and is clearly shown: Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? (Matthew 6:25)
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (Matthew 6:31) I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. (Romans 14:14) Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days. (Colossians 2:16)
We cannot know God's plan, who he has chosen as a messenger or to whom he has granted grace nor are we to speculate, as Job's friends did. We are, however, clearly instructed to judge all situations, all doctrines and all people to determine if they are good or bad and we are further instructed to separate ourselves from, to beware of, the "bad" person or situation. �Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?� (2 Corinthians 6:14) "...He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.� If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, received him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.� (2 John 9:11) �...we command you, brethren, on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. (2 Thessalonians 3:6) And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.� (2 Thessalonians 3:14‑15)
Having established that we are not only expected to judge but we are expected to act upon the judgements we make, it is critical to search the Scriptures for "rules" to guide us in this endeavor. For God's plan is very clear and simple. He expects us to look within and judge ourselves first. Then we are to judge people by their "fruits," not by appearances. We are always to employ the same standard or means of evaluation and that standard is to be God's Holy World.
1) God exhorts us to always "judge" ourselves, to "clean up our own act," first, before we judge or criticize others...�cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.� (Matthew 7:5)
It goes without saying that we must, in all situations, make every effort first, to rectify our fault in the matter. This does not, however, mean that you can't judge until you're perfect; It does not mean you should continue to associate with a chronic liar because on your last escapade together you also told a lie. You must fix your behavior but you must also "judge" the value of having a relationship with such a person. (God's Word tells us, �Make no friendship with an angry man...lest thou learn his ways...� (Proverbs 22:24‑25); The Israelites were told to kill all the Canaanites so they would not learn their ways. In other words, we become like those people we associate with and in this example you would become a liar.
2) God instructs us to judge people by their "fruits." Webster's 1828 dictionary defines this type of "fruit" as "that which is produced" (i.e. The fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth. Ephesians 5), the "effect or consequence" (i.e. They shall eat the fruit of their doings. Isaiah 3), or the "Advantage, profit, or good derived" (i.e. What fruit had ye then in those things where of ye are now ashamed? Romans 6).
Essentially this means we are to judge people by their actions, what they cause or bring about, and what a person receives as a result of his actions. For instance, the words of a preacher or teacher have a direct effect on those "learning" from them, therefore their words must be judged. A politician who says one thing and does something entirely different must be judged not by what he says he will do but by what he does do. A person who profits from wrongdoing and apologizes but does not return the profit should be judged by the action of non‑repentance not the words of repentance.
This can often be very difficult but we must remain vigilant in our efforts to judge people by their fruits. God offers us many additional guidelines in this area: �If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.� (1 John 2:15) �Who is a liar but he that denieth the Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the son.� (1 John 2:22) �We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.� (1 John 4:6) �Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favor.� (Proverbs 14:9)
Think of the many advertising slogans which use word like "sinfully delicious" to sell products.
As you read your Bibles, both Old and New Testaments, you will discover many more ways in which the "fruits" of man may be known.
3) God admonishes us not to judge by appearances...�Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature...for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.� (1 Samuel 16:7) �Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgement.� (1 John 7:24)
In this world people are often respected if they drive an expensive car and yet our Bible tells us that it is more likely that a rich person is sinful than that he is righteous...�It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.� (Matthew 19:24) We must not, as Job's friends did, assume that a person is sinful because they are poor or sick, nor should we assume that a rich person is evil. We must always judge people by their "fruits."
4) God demands that the same standard be used to judge all people all actions and all situations...�with righteousness shall be judge the world, and the people with equity.� (Psalm 98:9) �But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth...� (Isaiah 11:4) �Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgement, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have...� (Leviticus 19:35‑36)
This is essential since we are often tempted to believe our best friend is right or it is alright to engage in a particular activity because it seems like fun even though it may be morally wrong. We must always try to be as objective as possible. It sometimes helps to ask yourself, If my daughter, instead of me, was in this situation what would I want her to do?" or "Would I make the decision tomorrow that I am making today?" or "If someone other than my best friend said this what would I think?" or, the best question of all, "If Jesus knocks on my door five minutes from now, will I try to hide my decision from him or will I feel comfortable telling him about my decision?"
5) God provided us with the standard by which we are to judge all things ‑‑ His Holy Word. �The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.� (John 12:48) He that saith, �I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.� (1 John 2:4) �The commandment is a lamp and the law is light.� (Proverbs 6:23)
God gave us his commandments to guide us, to lead us, to allow us to discern between good and evil, right and wrong. This is precisely what judging is all about. To stay out of trouble, to be strong and sure in our convictions, God has taught us to judge people by their fruits according to his Word. Dr. Spock and the Humanists have taught two generations of parents "Not to be judgmental." They have raised children who are so oversensitive that they can't tolerate criticism and yet the Bible teaches us that chastisement is love, and in order to chastise, we must first judge.
I caution you to Beware of Anyone who tells you not to Judge. "Judge not, lest ye be judged" is the great deception used by many pastors to rationalize their offerings of pablum or the "doctrines of devils" and to disarm Christians in their fight for truth. Remember that some of the greatest Martyrs of all times died because of those things which Pastors today call "doctrinal differences." For the sake of "fellowship" we support those who teach false doctrines and we rationalize our behavior with "judge not, lest ye be judged."
���� When we give tithe dollars to mainline churches because we can't find an "Identity" church to attend, we are supporting, by our presence and our dollars, the teaching of lies. [Jews are Israel, the law is done away with, etc]." �...and what communion hath light with darkness?� (2 Corinthians 6:14) Wouldn't we be better off worshiping in our own homes? If we can home‑school our children in academic subjects, we should certainly be able, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to "Home‑Church" our families.
Are the Humanists and Jews sayings, "To each his own," "Do your own thing," etc., really any different than the out of context "Judge not, lest ye be judged?" �Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?� (1 Corinthians 6:2‑3)