TO CONDEMN OR TO JUDGE
PART 1 OF 3
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from Afrikaans
Translator: Robin Barker
Someone wrote to me:
“The section that says: Do not judge, because to the extent that you judge, you yourself will be judged: what does that exactly entail? And if the Bible was written for believers, does it mean that we may not judge those brothers and sisters who believe?”
First of all, I want to clear up what I will call ‘a misunderstanding’:
Although the Old Testament was originally meant for the Israelites by our Lord and the New Testament at the beginning, was originally written for the Christians, the Bible in its entirety is meant for every person on earth who wants to read and study it.
So, the Word, especially the New Testament was written for the Christians, but also for all people. Yes, also especially for those who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as their Redeemer and Saviour, so that they can also have the opportunity to accept Jesus as their Redeemer and Saviour.
Because remember, that our Lord was the only perfect sacrifice that could be found in the universe, for everyone, who was sent to earth.
JOHN 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world (this is every person on earth) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever (that is from every generation, language group, population and nation) believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world (this is all people) to condemn the world, but to save the world (this is all people who accept Him as their Redeemer and Saviour) through him.
18 Whoever (this is he/she who accepts Jesus as their Redeemer and Saviour) believes in Him (to the end) is not condemned, but whoever (to the end or does not accept Him as Redeemer and Saviour) does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Returning to the question that was sent to me, namely:
“The section that says: Do not judge, because to the extent that you judge, you yourself will be judged: what does that exactly entail?”
For many people this is a very difficult topic.
Because on the one side Jesus teaches me, to mention but one example that I must not judge[a] by which He means ‘condemn’.
LUKE 6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven"
On the other hand, the Word teaches me very clearly, again just to mention a few examples – that I must, so to speak, judge people’s lifestyle and behaviour:
1 COR 5:9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people-
JOH 7:24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."
ZEC 7:9 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another,
To show someone in love on their wrong deed is to open their eyes for the truth and to care for such a person’s salvation.
2TIM 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
To judge – take note I am not saying to condemn people – is part of a Christian’s life according to, as I understand from the Word through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, in fact to state it this way, it comprises more than one facet.
Because in my opinion, some people who call themselves Christians do not have the proper relationship with our Lord that they should have, and because they do not truly try to have a deep relationship with our Lord, they can unfortunately not truly know the difference between judgement and condemnation and therefore also do not handle this correctly with their fellow people.
Yes, because many people walk around with the wrong attitude, something like; ‘I am holier than you’ and therefore they do not hear the voice of the Holy Spirit as they should hear it, they are always busy judging negatively and not through Christ’s love.
If you are continually striving to make your loving relationship with our Lord deeper, you are going to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice clearer and clearer in your life and you will in this case realise also with divine love, that in actual fact I must never condemn my fellow man but always judge my fellow man with love. Because condemnation always brings friction and distancing but judging my fellow man gives our Lord the opportunity, through me, to show His image to my fellow man.
In my following writings of this series to you I am going to try and show you through the Word, how difficult it can be to distinguish what the Word expects of us, if we are not finely tuned into the voice of the Holy Spirit.
For now just the following:
Our Lord does not expect of us to have an opinion about someone’s lifestyle. It is not for people, for me in actual fact, to form an opinion about someone who I have just met.
What I should not do, is to look at another person with my religious nose stuck up in the air, while I am still working on things in my own life.
Jesus says on occasion to people with such stuck up religious noses when they look at people around them, after Jesus had convicted them naturally, just the following and with that, I now leave you.
MAT 23:27 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! (and everyone who lives their Christianity that way!) You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.
MAT 23:28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
Greetings,
Sakkie