Judge Judy

This blog post is to the one who judges, and the one who is being judged. This blog post is for the ones who have dished out church hurt, and the ones who have received it. In all honesty, you readers have probably been both of these people. Which one have you been lately? The goal is to be neither of these people, but to be who Jesus calls us to be. When Jesus spent time on Earth, he never judged others outside of righteousness. In fact, he said in the Sermon on the Mount,

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned” (Luke 6:37).”

Does this mean that we cannot speak the truth and must remain silent or indifferent to right and wrong? Of course not! Jesus actually calls us to spread the truth and judge in righteousness. This is actually the instructions for christians, and is called the great commission. Matthew 28:19-20 says,

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

You do not lie to someone you love, right? Neither does God lie to us. Everything he speaks out of his mouth is the truth. He does not not speak anything but the truth, because he loves us. If this truth offends and scares people, this does not make it. Being indifferent to compassion, and harsh while speaking the truth is unlike the ways of Jesus. However, speaking truth in love is what he did. He never condemned anyone and made them feel less than for their sins. Instead he uplifted and encouraged in grace and mercy, while still correcting and calling them higher. We can see this in Proverbs 1:23. Solomon, the son of David and the king of Israel was considered one of the wisest kings in the land. God gave him much wisdom, and spoke through him saying,

“Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings."

Repent in Hebrew, the original language, has been defined as “price” in some translations . This sheds a whole new light on the scripture.. We can see that God is telling us to turn away from our evil way, correcting us, by saying there's a price for the things he warns us of. There is a price that comes with sin and his restraints, and that is why he advises us against them. We can also infer that he has raised us in price as his children, so we are of higher value than those things that are not of him (his rebuke). He is telling us to do what he knows is good for us.

God speaks the truth because of his never ending love for us. Sometimes, the truth can offend people, or even scare them. If someone is offended or hurt with you speaking the truth, this could be because of a few different things. This could be a sign that you are not operating in love and grace, but only in truth. This is much like living in the old testament law, and not the love we see in Jesus. Or, this could even be a response from their guilty conscience, reacting to God’s truth.

Not speaking the truth, on the other hand, has its consequences as well. Encouraging others in their sins, and misleading a brother or a sister is considered wicked in the bible. If you are not speaking truth, then this is only operating in “love” with no Jesus.

My worship leader at Free chapel says it like this,

“Worship in spirit with the absence of his word, is lawlessness. Worship with his word, but the absence of his spirit, is religion.”

There is such a balance that we need to facilitate when speaking truth, aiming to bring people closer, not drive them away. However, do not be mistaken. There will always be people offended with you, just like there was Jesus.

Later, again in the sermon on the Mount, Jesus urges us to judge between true and false ways of living. He teaches us to first judge our own sins, and this is repeated so many times throughout scripture. For example, in the book of John, the Jews were throwing stones at an adulterous woman. Jesus spoke,

“But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)

There are so many things we can grasp from this scripture. This reveals that the only person in fact who could be considered a judge, is God. Jesus was sinless, and yet he still did not throw stones. His priority was love and grace, not condemnation. However, there will be a day of judgment that he warns us of, and God handles the judging of hearts so we don’t have to.

Here are a few scriptures to research and meditate on.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? (Matthew 7:3-5)

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? (1 Corinthians 6:2)

‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. (Leviticus 19:15)