Judge Not?

     In the church, when something happens to the “leader” of the church we usually hear the same slogan repeated…”judge not lest ye be judged”. We also hear the scripture about not “touching God’s anointed” or “Don’t put your mouth on God’s preacher!” Well, first of all, I am a firm believer that if they are God’s anointed, they will act like God’s anointed- meaning they will flee from immorality and live a life that is disciplined by the Holy Ghost through scripture! Their talk and their walk will match up.

     What does the scripture “judge not lest ye be judged” actually mean? In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus condemns hypocritical, unwarranted “judgment” of others. Jesus follows this statement up with the admonition to remove the beam from your own eye before telling someone else about the speck in their eye. In other words, get your own affairs straight before trying to deal with my affairs. Does the scripture tell us not to judge at all? NO, because the end of the scripture says to get the beam out of our eye so that we may “see clearly” to remove the speck from someone else’s eye. In order to see clearly, I must have my own affairs in order. I can’t call you on the carpet for something if I am doing the same thing that you are! Romans 2:1 “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”

     We have confused judgment with rebuke. They are not one in the same. The bible says in 2 Tim 3:16 that ALL scripture is God breathed and is useful for reproof, correction, teaching and training in righteousness. Since God’s word is the standard by which we judge (or assess) the world around us, it is also the standard for our reproof, and our correction of actions that do not line up with it. It is not our opinion but it is the Word of God that judges. We simply apply the word to whatever the situation is. John 12:48 quotes Jesus as saying that the very words that He spoke would ultimately judge those that did not keep them. Does the passage in Mathew relate to someone that openly sins and is called on the carpet about it? It is not talking about a person at all, rather the deed that was carried out. We are to judge the deed, not the doer.

     So why is it that people get so up in arms about others calling sin what it is? Why is it that folks run to the defense of preachers (many times the defenders are other preachers) when their mess is found out? James said it best that teachers are held to a higher standard!  Rather than cosigning with foolishness, we should be championing those that judge immoral deeds correctly and according to the word of God. Without proper judgment, how are we to discern right from wrong? How are we to discern what proper behavior is for a Christian and what is not? It is not the person but their actions that deserve rebuke, and immoral actions demand accountability. We need accountability from those that are “called (if they are actually called)” to shepherd God’s people. If preachers are holding parishioners to a standard of holiness, shouldn’t they also be held to the same standard? We get so busy trying to push fallen leaders back to prominence that we do not look for signs of genuine repentance.

     When we call out those that have sinned openly, publicly and without regret- that is not judgment, it is simply telling the truth. We cling to Matthew 7:15 as a protective mechanism to gloss over sin and hope that someone will gloss over ours. When Jesus spoke of casting the first stone, he knew that the very same men that brought this woman to him were just as guilty as she was and some of them possibly even slept with her too! They were playing a hypocritical game or cat and mouse. He was also aware of the trap that these men were trying to set regarding the law. But if you look closely at the scripture, he did not excuse the sin of the woman, he forgave it. It was still sinful to Him, although the ones bringing the accusations had bad intentions.

     When religious leaders publicly sin or live secret lives that are eventually exposed, we are advised by scripture to call them out! 1 Tim 5:20 says that overseers that persist in sin should be rebuked publicly (openly) so that others would see and be afraid to sin. Ephesians 5:11-12 says to have

nothing to do with “darkness” but to expose secret deeds. What about love and restoration? Galatians 6:1 tells us that if anyone is “caught” in a sin, those that are spiritual should restore them with gentleness. Gentleness is required when someone is “overtaken” by a fault- basically, when they are “surprised” or “ambushed” by a fault. That can happen to anyone. None of us are above giving in to temptation given the right circumstances. We are human, we have frailties, we have weaknesses and honestly- many give in to them rather than resisting temptation. But does this scripture apply to a person who is habitually sinful and is constantly transgressing the law of God? At what point do you go from being overtaken to not having to be taken at all?  Is the person that sins egregiously yet secretly really even a true believer in Christ? Would someone that called God their Father live a life marred by a lack of spiritual discipline, discretion or self-control? I think not.  John said in 1 John 3:9 that one that “practices” sin is of the devil- it is that simple.

     When someone else’s sins out, understand that no person’s sin is above criticism. If the criticism is warranted, if the accusations are true and the truth is the light-why would we continue to cover things up and try to keep them in darkness? It doesn’t matter how great the man or woman of God is in our eyes, if they are living a life of sin, they are not God’s anointed-and I am not afraid to say that. God’s anointing comes out of God’s grace- sin does not. We are so eager to crown this one and that one- not realizing that the folks that we elevate are not always elevated by God. Or, as in the case of Saul, they WERE elevated but at some point lost God’s favor because of some transgression or because of their disobedience. It may hurt to hear the truth, but that does not make it any less truthful. Paul said that there are some things that should not be named among those who belong to the Lord. I totally agree, and it doesn’t bother me when others rightly apply scripture to criticize those that carry on as if God’s word has not spoken. I want to be held accountable for my actions. I want to have someone that I can talk to that will not tell me what I WANT to hear but what I NEED to hear. If I am surrounded by “yes men” how can I possibly know the truth? Especially if I am jacked up! The word of God is sharper than any two edged sword and it tells it like it is- it is our measuring stick to make proper “judgments” of the things that occur around us.