Diffusers 17: Freed From Judgmentalism

Intro

Judgement. This is often a hot button topic in our culture today. In fact, I often hear Matthew 7:1 quoted by people in the secular space in an attempt to shut down Christians who challenge the world’s narrative about reality. They quote, “judge not lest ye be judged.”

As the famed swordsman Inigo Montoya has said, “you keep using that word, but I do not think you know what it means.” In this case, we have an often quoted phrase from scripture, but I am not sure people truly know what it means.

Is God really calling us to cease making judgement, period? Can that truly be the meaning of the text here? I don’t think so.

We literally make hundreds of judgments each day.According to Merriam-Webster’s judgment is “the process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing.” We make judgments about what we will eat. We make judgments about what we wear, about how we drive, about whether we will go to work or school or not. We also make judgments about what we will value and believe to be true and right.

The truth is that a person who is unable to make judgments is mentally impaired. In psychology this may be referred to as cognitive dysfunction.

A judgement is a simply a decision. Judgement in and of itself is not a bad thing. It is when we act like God that we get into trouble. We judge spiritual fruit and character, but not hearts. It is God's job to judge the intention of a person's heart.

I highly doubt that Jesus is calling all of us to be foolish. After all, the Bible is full of calls to make judgments and even tells us that one day God along with all of the true Christians, will judge the world. How can judgment itself be wrong if it is something God actively does and he is himself perfect? If it isn’t inherently wrong to judge, then what could Jesus mean by his command about judgement here?

Well, in a nutshell that is what we are here to discover today so let’s dive into God’s holy word.

Truth (What is God telling us through his word?)

The way we judge people sets a precedent for how we are judged by people. (1)

There is a difference between making a judgment and passing judgment. We need to understand this, make the distinction between the two, and avoid the latter.

The sort of judging Jesus warns us against goes far beyond making a values or truth judgement about a person’s character or beliefs. It is a judgment of condemnation.

The Greek term used here which we translate as “judge” is the word “κρίνετε.” In this context, the word refers to the carrying out of a judicial process. The same term is used to describe the judgment of God experienced by Christ on the cross when we was condemned in our place.

The English word condemnation has several meanings.

1: to declare to be reprehensible, wrong, or evil usually after weighing evidence and without reservation

2a: to pronounce guilty : CONVICT b: SENTENCE, DOOM- Ex: condemn a prisoner to die

Some of the problems we Christians have in our culture today are self inflicted.

Though not always true, some of the ire we draw is because at times we have acted prudishly rather than with charity in our culture.

Many Christians got too comfortable with being the dominant force in the culture which lead to pride. Pride lead us to use truth as a weapon for winning a culture war rather than as a balm to heal a broken society

Let’s not forget that Jesus’ disciples wanted to pick up swords, but he insisted on carrying a cross instead.

The measure we set forth will be used against us. (2)

How do you want your life to be measured?

I always thought this meant that God would judge us based on how we judge others but the more I look at this the more I realize Jesus isn’t talking so much about how God will measure us, but about how the world will.

Peter, in 1 Peter 3, encourages us that it is better to suffer for doing good than it is for doing bad.

If we are a people marked by charity, Christian love, grace, and mercy even towards our enemies… won’t the world look silly when they pass judgement upon us?

God is going to judge us by the standard he set forth, but others will tend to judge us by the standard we set forth. This emphasizes the importance of being radically kind and treating others well.

If I judged my life and others by human standards, I would be crushed under the weight of that.

People who don’t know God are always making up new rules because they have to justify themselves. They think this life is all they have, and any way someone might infringe on their supposed happiness is not just a threat to their personal freedom, but a threat to their very sense of happiness and satisfaction with life.

They derive their value from the acceptance of others rather than from acceptance by God.

If we aren’t careful, we can fall into these same patterns and pervert our religion.

When we get angry and hate others who believe differently from us, we show we are looking to their acceptance for fulfillment.

If all we need to be satisfied was God, and we know we are eternally accepted by him in Christ, and we know his word is always true regardless of what others think, then why do we often feel threatened by disbelief in the world?

It’s easy to treat the world like they treat us, but it’s radical when we treat them like Christ treats us.

God is honest about brokenness, but is gracious towards the broken.

He calls us to repent but extends charity.

God does not take joy in condemning the wicked.

Ezekiel 18:23

There are many Christians who have right opinions, good theology, and proper judgement about many things but unlike the Father, they take much joy in leveraging what they know to condemn others.

These are the folks use truth as a bat to wack people who are down rather than as a balm for healing. We will never have a positive impact on a broken world by doing that.

The wise look inward before looking outward. (3-5)

Looking inward helps us to see the truth about ourselves. We all have hangups, but we are often dishonest with ourselves about them.

Proverbs 27:19.

This is a critical practice for all who claim Christ.

2 Corinthians 13:5

Matthew 23:27

It is entirely possible to be religious and far from God at the same time. What is our core motivation? Is it Christ and his glory, or self-justification and personal glory.

When we understand our own brokenness, we can approach others with humility and grace.

Leviticus 19:34

God wanted Israel to remember they were slaves in the past so they would not become self-righteous and entitled. He wanted them to focus not on their own works, status, or standing but on his grace which enabled them to be free.

Also, when we remember what we once were, and that all we have is a grace gift of God which we never could have earned, it leads us to be merciful towards those who are still in slavery to sin.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Colossians 3:6-10

Titus 3:1-5

Paul often reminds us in his letters that we were once among the sinful pagans. By God’s grace we are what we are now and so similarly to God’s direction in Leviticus, we are to be kind to those who are dead in sin apart from Christ.

There is a time to be silent. (6)

Some people are not ready to hear gospel truth no matter what.

Jesus told the Apostles that if their message was rejected with contempt and scorn, they should dust off their feet and move on.

I have often observed Christians locked into ideological battles which are doing nothing good for the kingdom of God. It becomes about pride rather than the glory of Christ. We must refuse to participate in these sorts of discourses.

We do not have to be right before people. We know we are right before God and that’s what truly matters.

We discourse to lead people towards Christ, not to win arguments. If a conversation about Christ or his truth becomes toxic, it is okay to leave that conversation far behind you.

Application (What is God calling us to do about his word?)

Judge character without canceling or condemning people.

“We should use our judgement, of course; the verse implies that we judge in the right sense. But we should not indulge the criticizing faculty on others in a censorious manner as if we were set in authority and had a right to dispense judgement upon our fellows. If we impute motives and pretend to read hearts, others will do the same to us. A hard and censorious behavior is sure to provoke reprisals. We do not object to people forming a fair opinion of our character, neither are we forbidden to do the same toward them. But as we would object to them sitting in judgement on us, we should not sit in judgement on them. This is not the day of judgement, nether are we his majesty’s judges. And therefore we may not anticipate the time appointed for the final reckoning or usurp the prerogatives of the judge of all the earth.” -C.H. Spurgeon

We must be careful not to take a single moment, or a collection of moments, and assume those will define a person’s life in the end. They may come to know Christ as we do and if so, all will change.

Be virtuous, not virtue signaling.

Because of who Jesus is we can be real about who we are before getting real about the brokenness in others.

It is super important that we practice what we preach. I don’t think God wants us feeding people raw cake. If your Christianity is only half baked, let it cook some more before you try to feed it to someone else.

There are times and seasons by the way. The biggest thing here is not to call someone out on a sin you yourself commit with unrepentance. Be humble and honest.

Know when to hold em.

We should be ready to walk away when it looks like a fight is brewing.

Also, maybe be careful about unnecessarily poking the bear.

There is a time for a hard word and a time to be quiet. Learning to follow the Spirit’s lead is critical here.

I am not advocating for watering down the gospel, or pulling our punches, but rather knowing when to throw the punch.

Floyd Mayweather is a great fighter not because he has punches to throw, but because he know when and where to land them.

Landing

I encourage each of us this week to pay careful attention to how we react to those who we disagree with or are annoyed with. Do you feel anger towards them, or compassion for them? Pray about what you are feeling and ask God to show you his heart, and too help you to see people the way he sees them.

Practice actively releasing people from your condemning thoughts, and praying for them to find freedom in Christ.

Do you feel condemned by God? Often we condemn because we fear we are condemned. I am here to tell you today that we do not live in the age of condemnation, but of mercy and grace. You may be living in active rebellion against God today but he extends his grace to you through his son Jesus Christ.