1 Cor 2:15 (KJV) But he that is spiritual judgeth all things...
Mat 7:1 (KJV) "Judge not, that ye be not judged..."
Ok.... so as Christians, should we judge?
First of all, lets sip through the meaning of the word, judge. Judgment is an ambiguous word, in Greek as in English: it may mean sitting in judgment on people (or even condemning them), or it may mean exercising a proper discrimination. In the former sense judgment is depreciated; in the latter sense it is recommended.
Personally, i feel a Christian is not to judge hypocritically or self-righteously, as can be seen from the context above. [But] Scripture repeatedly exhorts believers to evaluate carefully and choose between good and bad people and things. The Christian is to "test everything":
1 Thes 5:21 "By all means use your judgment, and hold on to whatever is good."
First of all, lets sip through the meaning of the word, judge. Judgment is an ambiguous word, in Greek as in English: it may mean sitting in judgment on people (or even condemning them), or it may mean exercising a proper discrimination. In the former sense judgment is depreciated; in the latter sense it is recommended.
Personally, i feel a Christian is not to judge hypocritically or self-righteously, as can be seen from the context above. [But] Scripture repeatedly exhorts believers to evaluate carefully and choose between good and bad people and things. The Christian is to "test everything":
1 Thes 5:21 "By all means use your judgment, and hold on to whatever is good."
Among the gifts of the Spirit scarcely one is of greater practical usefulness than the gift of discernment. This gift should be highly valued and frankly sought as being almost indispensable in these critical times. This gift will enable us to distinguish the chaff from the wheat and to divide the manifestations of the flesh from the operations of the Spirit.
For clarity, let's use the word discern for the judgment that God encourages, and criticize for inappropriate judgments. By context, try to identify whether the word judgment, when used in Scripture, means discernment or criticism.
Here are some scriptures for you to identify:
Luke 12:57 (NIV) "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?"
Hosea 4:6 (NIV) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
It is important that we judge things properly, or discern. If a person with appendicitis is diagnosed as having an ulcer, it may seem a mere matter of terminology, but if judged improperly, treatment could lead to death! If a baby has a fever, you wouldn't put it in the freezer to cool it down. Treating the symptom may make the problem worse! Discernment by outward appearances, out of ignorance, confusing cause and effect, symptom with problem, can be devastating--even with the best of intents.
2 Cor 10:7 (NIV) You are looking only at the surface of things.
Phil 1:9-10 (NIV) And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.
Phil 1:9 (TEB) This is my prayer for you: I pray that your love will keep on growing more and more, together with true knowledge and perfect judgment...
1 Ki 3:9 (NIV) So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong...
1 Cor 12:10 (Phi) ...to another the ability to discriminate in spiritual matters...
God bless.
Signing off,
Bea
2 comments:
I think this article is excellent. Thanks so much for posting it up. I've always had thoughts about this every now and then. I think its seriously annoying sometimes when people, particularly Christians who throw around that statement, "Don't judge me" so often.
I just never really looked it up much before from a biblical perspective, actually knowing the verses that relate to it and all. A very good blog post.
Hahaha. you are most welcome. See ya in cell SOON! :D
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