Website: Studying the Word of God

Authors: Brian K. McPherson and Scott McPherson

Web Address (URL): biblestudying.net

Judging Study – Part 1

  1. Introduction
  2. Definition of “judging”
  3. Purposefully vague at this point
  4. For starters we’re including generically
  5. judging people (whether individuals or groups)
  6. judging behaviors
  7. judging doctrines
  8. judging ideas
  9. making decisions
  10. judging spirits
  11. each passage we will examine will focus on one or perhaps more of these
  12. we will wait until we get to examinations passage by passage to examine the protocols regarding judgment in each of the above categories
  13. Survey
  14. 64 verses in the New Testament bear on judging.
  15. Listings include the following words involving or connected to judging:
  16. judge, judgeth, judgment, judged, judgest, examine, approve, prove, search, discern, try/tried, rebuke, admonish, receive not, reprove, exhort, contend
  17. Results
  18. 11 against*
  19. 55 for*
  20. *two verses are listed in both categories (11+55=66–2=64)
  1. Against judging –
  2. Passages - 11
  3. Matthew 5:22 – being angry against your brother w/o cause = in danger of judgment
  4. Matthew 7:1-5, 15-20 – judge not, lest…
  5. Luke 6:37-45 – judge not, lest…
  6. Romans 2:1, 3 – when you judge another you judge yourself – for you do the same things
  7. Romans 14:3-Romans 15:3 – do not judge another man’s servant, your brother (eating and holidays)
  8. 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 – "yet he himself is judged of no man"
  9. 1 Corinthians 4:3,5 – judge not before its time, when Jesus comes
  10. *1 Corinthians 5:12-13 – don’t judge those outside the church
  11. 1 Corinthians 10:29 – judging liberty
  12. Colossians 2:16 – let no one judge you in eating and drinking and holidays (Jewish)
  13. James 4:11-12 – he who judges his brother judges the law…
  14. Do these passages actually prohibit or discourage exercising judgment?
  15. Matthew 5:22 – “without cause” – this very phrase implies the observance of causes
  16. Romans 2:1, 3 – this passage only condemns hypocrisy, it does not forbid judgment; Paul is particularly establishing that we are all breakers of the Law
  17. Romans 14:3-Romans 15:3 –
  18. this cannot be broadly applied since Paul specifies only two issues we ought not to judge in
  19. the only things Paul prohibits us from judging one another in is in whether or not we chose to continue observing Jewish dietary laws and Jewish feast days
  20. Paul is prohibiting judgment of individuals, but his words clearly indicate what correct and incorrect doctrine on these matters were, and that we should understand them
  21. the goal was to receive the weak in order to build them up into correct doctrine over time
  22. (For the proper protocols regarding dietary practice and holidays see Acts 15:19-20, 28-29, Acts 21:24-25, Galatians 4:8-11)
  23. 1 Corinthians 2:14-16
  24. This verse indicates that while we as spiritual men can make judgments about all things, God, not man, is the one who will be the judge of us.
  25. Does that mean we can't judge other people, their behavior, their doctrine? NO.
  1. "the things of the Spirit of God" are "spiritually discerned" - this indicates that we must exercise discernment in order to know what to receive and what not to receive - and that means we must judge what is and is not of the Spirit of God
  2. "He that is spiritual JUDGES ALL THINGS." - all things would seem to include the behavior and doctrines of others.
  3. The reason a spiritual man "is judged of no man" (verse 15) is "for who hath known the mind of the Lord." This implies that to judge a spiritual man requires to know the judgment that is in the mind of the Lord.
  4. Furthermore, what is the conclusion to this question, "who hath known the mind of the Lord?" The answer is "we have the mind of Christ." Thus, we are equipped to RECITE or REPEAT the spiritual judgments of God even as they pertain to the behavior and doctrine of other Christians.
  5. We simply must refrain from making judgments based upon our own mind and judgment and instead simply repeat the judgments that God has made plain concerning behaviors and doctrines, etc. (See John 5:22, 27, 30)
  6. 1 Corinthians 4:3,5 – Paul is speaking about judging each others’ hearts and who is better than one another before the time of judgment, he is not prohibiting judging behavior or doctrine – (“Paul and Apollos” such as 1 Corinthians 1:12)
  7. *1 Corinthians 5:12-13 – we are not to judge those outside the church, in this case Paul is instructing excommunication for ungodly behavior for believers
  8. 1 Corinthians 10:29 – we are not to do things which will cause people to judge our liberty in Christ from the Law of Moses
  9. Colossians 2:16 – refer back to Romans 14:1-15:3
  10. James 4:11-12 – we are not to judge each other regarding salvation or damnation
  11. Matthew 7:1-5, 15-20; Luke 6:37-45 –
  12. meant to deter people from judging hastily or improperly without first examining themselves as well
  13. “first remove the plank from your own eye”
  14. “and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye”
  15. “therefore by their fruits you will know them”
  16. If you went through your life judging nobody, would God still judge you? Absolutely, yes. We know Jesus is not saying that we will not be judged if we do not judge others.
  17. Matthew 7:2 and Luke 6:38 clearly demonstrate that “judge not, lest you be judged” indicates a proportionality, a sowing and reaping with regard to how human’s judge each other
  1. Limitations on Judging
  2. We are not to be angry without cause.
  3. We are not to judge one another for whether or not we continue to practice Jewish feasts or Jewish dietary laws.
  4. We are not to place final judgment on someone – in terms of salvation or damnation.
  5. We are to repeat the judgments of God, not simply judge from our own minds, hearts, and opinions
  6. We are not to judge who will be rewarded with a greater position in the kingdom of God.
  7. We are not to judge those outside the church, except to judge them as outside the church.
  8. We are not to judge hastily, improperly, or presumptuously, and without first examining ourselves.

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