This study was first taught on February 22, 2011

Topic: Judge Not (4): Judging Among Ourselves

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Background
Last week, we looked at some other examples of how we judge others wrongly. We saw that Peter was sent to Cornelius’ house by the Holy Spirit, through who’s preaching, the household and friends of Cornelius received the Holy Spirit; and so Peter had no choice but to administer Christian baptism on them (Gentiles). We thus saw the dangers of prejudices and profiling. Peter’s upbringing would never have allowed him to step into the house of a Gentile. However, since God had sent him there, he obeyed, and the door of salvation was opened to the Gentiles, so to speak. Obviously, someone else may have been called upon to do the work that Peter did that day in Cornelius’ house, had he refused to go. One wonders how many sinners we have allowed to go without salvation just because we are prejudiced against them or their religion or even their appearance?

We also saw the danger of hearing one side without hearing the other, and then passing judgment. We saw how David, the King, passed a detrimental judgment after hearing only one side of a matter, and observed that we should not be hasty to pass judgment; and that we should always allow the accused to state his case in the presence of his accusers before accepting such accusation to be true. We said that this approach will eliminate gossip, false witnesses, favour seekers, etc.

Finally, we saw how we can be conceited into thinking that we are the only ones who are preaching the true gospel, or who have been given the rights to preach the gospel. The Lord’s position on ministry is that as long as other preachers are not preaching against Him, they are on His side. We however cautioned that where we observe the performance of lying wonders, and obvious distortion of truth, we should distance ourselves. We noted that if it is a matter of a person not being able to rightly divide the word of truth, we should like Priscilla and Aquila did with Apollos, take them under wing and teach them more correctly.

Scripture Text(s)
Matthew 7:1-2; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5, 9-13
From our scripture texts, we see what appears to be conflicting injunctions. First, the Lord says not to judge others; but then we are told to judge among ourselves (that is, believers in Christ). The truth is that there is no conflict whatsoever. For, if we have no basis for judging, there would be conflict resolution issues, as would lawlessness pervade our assemblies. May the Holy Spirit help us to receive God’s word tonight, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Lord’s injunction for us to not judge others was put in place to eliminate a situation where all and sundry, believe that they are at liberty to judge. Also, we are being asked not to be critical and intolerant of others. However, the kingdom of God is a place where there must need be order (1 Corinthians 14:33, 40), hence there must be the means of maintaining such order.
Luke 12:13-14; Acts 7:35; 2 Chronicles 19:4-10; Exodus 18:21-26; Proverbs 16:10, 12; Isaiah 11:1-5; John 5:30; 8:3-11; 1 Kings 3:4-12, 16-29; Genesis 18:20-25; Proverbs 24:23-25; 28:21; 1 Corinthians 6:1-5; Matthew 18:15-18.

Conclusion
The Lord in asking us not to judge others did not mean that we should be lawless. In fact, we are expected to be subject to authority (Romans 13:1-7), so that we can live peaceably among ourselves, as well as with those who do not believe in Christ.

We are not to be self-appointed judges, or judge matters that do not concern us. Those qualified to judge others are appointed by God, Who endows them with the requisite enablement to judge His people. Such individuals have the fear of God; are lovers of truth; do not show partiality or favouritism; hate covetousness; are subject to the Holy Spirit; have received wisdom from God; are able to hear from God; and do not consider the status or stature of persons before passing judgment.

There is also the procedure for bringing matters to the attention of spiritual authority. The first thing to do when there is an issue with another believer is to attempt to settle such matter between you. If that does not work, then involve others who would qualify as judges to adjudicate (though not appointed as such); failing which you then bring the matter to the spiritual authority appointed over you. This is the approach that should be followed on all matters that require adjudication among believers in Christ. As much as possible do not go before unbelievers to settle matters among believers!

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