1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
(Matt 7:1)
Standing on the sidelines
of life, a place that apparently appeals to them more than defending the
four-yard line of moral discretion, the ministers of mainline denominations
shun the very mention of the word, SIN. Perhaps the word reminds them of unrepented
sin in their own lives; or perhaps they are more interested in being perceived
as ‘sophisticated;’ and safeguarding a status of comfort and opulence in the
well-furnished parsonage of the large and popular church.
At any point that sin is
brought up as a matter of church discipline, the chameleons of the cloth will
shrink back with the misappropriation of the words of Jesus in the Gospel of
St. Matthew, chapter 7, verse 1. In so doing, they completely neutralize church
discipline and Christian morality based on the Word and clear Commandments of
God. One reason I believe these unprincipled men misapply this counsel of
Christ is because they equate justice with condemnation. The two are
light-years apart.
One of the most
exceptional events in the New Testament for its expression of God’s unmerited
GRACE is the Gospel of St. John, 8:1-11 – the account of the Woman taken in
Adultery. The ruthless ministers who brought this woman to be stoned were, at
least, as guilty of sin as was she. At the last, when all from the oldest to
the youngest, had stolen away due to the conviction of their own sins, the
woman was alone with Christ. We shall all soon be so. Trembling with such fear
and shame that she dared not lift her eyes to the soft-spoken voice that had
defended her, the woman slowly had her eyes opened in the course of the
dialogue to recognize this Man as her LORD.
Once alone, the first
words she heard were: “Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man
condemned thee?” John 8:10 (KJV) The question was two-pronged. The first:
“Where are those thine accusers?” In the day of Judgment, even the devil,
having been already cast into the Lake of Fire, will not be present to accuse
the children of God. The second question of profound importance: “hath no man
condemned thee?” This last question fathoms the depth of the sinner’s heart. It
is important for us to know and obey the Moral Law of God, and it is important
to apply, in judgment, this morality to the society in which we live insofar as
we are able through teaching and example. But no man can condemn another.
There is an interesting
account in the life of Vice President Calvin Coolidge (he was VP under Warren
G. Harding and succeeded to the office of President on the death of Harding):
“Once when Calvin Coolidge was Vice President
and presiding over the Senate, an altercation arose between two Senators.
Tempers flared, and one Senator told the other to go straight to hell. The
offended Senator stormed from his seat, marched down the aisle and stood before
Mr. Coolidge, who was silently leafing through a book.
”Mr. President,” he said,
“did you hear what he said to me?”
“Coolidge looked up from his book and said
calmly, “You know I have been looking through the Senate rule book. You don’t
have to go.”
The Christian does,
however, have the responsibility to judge, by the rule of God’s Law, society
and individuals about them. We use our God-given faculty of judgment to avoid
dangerous places and people. We also are given the faculty of judgment to identify
sin in ourselves and others. The notion that we are not obliged to judge others
is a gross error of the modern mind of man.
So what did Jesus mean
when He said, “Judge not that ye be not judged?” I believe his counsel is taken
out of context when quoted singularly without the fullness of his counsel which
accompanied that counsel. Here is the complete dialogue:
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment
ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured
to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye,
but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to
thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is
in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first 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. (Matt 7:1-5) Christ qualifies His intent in the verses following
verse1, does He not?
His counsel insists that
we must be innocent of the same sins with which we identify others. It would be
entirely a miscarriage of justice for a judge to condemn a man for adultery
when he, himself, is living the same relationship with one with whom he is not
married.
There is a story I have
told before of the Brigade Commander who was inspecting a basic training
brigade on the day of its graduation. The colonel trooped the line and, spying
a soldier of particular interest, stopped before him and said, “Soldier, button
that pocket!” The soldier responded, “You mean right now in front of everyone,
sir?” “That is what I said,” retorted the colonel, “button that pocket this
minute or you will be placed on report!” Nervously, the soldier reached forward
and buttoned the colonel’s pocket.
Only a moral society can
judge of righteousness and righteous living. In fact, the Christian is
commanded to judge: 24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge
righteous judgment. (John 7:24) So does the counsel of Christ in Matthew 7:1
contrast with that in John 7:24? Not in the least! It is complimentary to it.
It is very true that our judgment is invalid in discerning right and wrong, but
the Word of God is perfect in distinguishing sin. If we judge sin by what God
has defined it to be in His Book, we are on the solid ground of judging with
righteousness.
The sterilization of the
Church and her people from judging sin has led to a broader concept of a
‘judgeless’ society. Sin no life style can be labelled by the church as sin,
neither can anything hurtful be uttered in society. “Judge not,” concerning the
murder of innocent babies in their mother’s womb! “Judge not” in describing the
filthy practice of homosexuality as sin. “Judge not” when radical Islam rears
its bloody head to practice the most egregious human rights violations in
history. If Islam is a religion of peace, please show me the evidence so that I
might JUDGE appropriately! I know their Quran and I also know that it is
anything but Holy. Any book that advocates the beheading of all who will not
accept their little false god of Allah is not a Holy Book. Any religion that is
a proponent of rape, slavery and every other inhuman practice is not Holy.
Feel free to argue these
points with me – you will certainly lose on the face of the evidence.
The Political Correctness
of ‘Judge Not’ has permeated every avenue of our lives to stifle any statement
of biblical morality, or political saneness to the public forum. It first
became a muzzle on the church in order to bar any moral judgment from being
exercised in the biblical context. It next has infiltrated every level of
academia, politics, and society to stifle any objection to immorality and
totalitarian tendencies of governments run amuck. It has come to represent the
personification of wickedness in high places by politicians, clergy, and public
school teachers.
It is time for men and
women of conviction to stand up with the Holy backbone of conviction and
uncompromising faith and to set the record straight at last. Will we continue
to the dark abyss of allowing all that our Fathers bled and died for from
Lexington to Fallujah be trampled upon with ruthless disregard? Will we
continue to stand timidly by as all that is good is labelled as bad, and all
that is evil labelled as good.It is high time to regard the
counsel of the prophet Isaiah – 20 Woe unto them
that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for
darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe
unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! (Isaiah 5:20-21)
