Musing - Should we, or should we not, judge our brothers?

Hebraic Musing - Should we, or should we not, judge our brothers?

Have you heard a Christian being told “Stop being Judgmental. People have no business judging the behaviors of each other.”?   Question – Who was judging what?

To judge requires a foundation of truth.  Who has God’s Word or truths in Him?  Or should…?

God’s Word is truth: (1) Psalm 119:160  All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.  NIV  (2) John 8:31-32   "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  ESV   (3) And Jesus said in His prayer to the Father in John 17:17  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  NIV 

Non-Christians, and even some professing Christians, are typically not operating from a base of truth.  Their judgment might be flawed, especially in classic contra-Biblical hot topics.  To that extent, the non-Christian might not be a valid judge; unless their judgmental comments happen to be Biblically based.

For a Christian to judge a Non-Christian – will the recipient receive the Word? Is there motivation for a non-Christian to change his/her ways?  However, is it legalistic for a Christian to use God’s Word to tell another Christian how we should live, work, play, raise and educate our children, self-govern ourselves and worship Him?  Obviously this applies to blatant issues, not petty differences.  You don’t make friends and be respected if one is always critical. 

Jesus said in Luke 17:3  …If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,   ESV   And Paul advised Timothy in 1 Tim 5:20  As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. ESV

Now the challenge, for a Christian to accept the judgment requires him/her to be (a) versed in the Word, (b) tender in the Spirit AND (c) respectful of the messenger’s Halakhah (way of walking).   Consider the classic OT challenge that Elijah, a man of God, encountered when wicked Ahab saw him on Mt. Carmel.  When he (Ahab) saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?"  "I have not made trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the Lord's commands and have followed the Baals.  1 Kings 18:17-19  NIV    What followed is the famous scene of God’s fire on the watery sacrifice which soundly defeated the priests of Baal.

My friend, Buddy Hanson, claims -- Man says: God’s Word is not relevant to our everyday situations and circumstances. It is only applicable inside our homes and churches. This means that we are in no position to judge anyone or anything.   I tend to agree with that statement at face value because Buddy called it ‘man’ think.    But God said For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinth. 10:3-6. 

Remember, we Christians are no longer a ‘moral majority’ so we need to be a ‘prophetic minority’.

​Points to ponder

When we say, “I’m not being judgmental,”  
are we really saying that there is no absolute standard of behavior?

What is the difference between ‘judging’ and ‘condemning’?

I may not have all the answers, but I do have a lot of questions!                 
       Be careful… judge not, lest ye be judged   Mt 7:1                                   April 1, 2014

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                                  

Author of two books “Hebraic Insights” and  “Biblical Marriage”
And weekly “Hebraic Musings”  e-mails
Yosef1@cox.net   or   www.InsightsByYosef.com