A Time to Judge and A Time to Judge Not

Scripture wasn't written with the divisions found in our Bibles today.. the chapters and topics between them often run together, which is why it's so important when studying one chapter to also study the ones before and after to get the meaning in context..

Someone was posting about not judging recently in their teaching and I got to wondering the context.. because there is so much confusion about passages that say not to judge and yet others that say to judge rightly and with righteous judgement..

I looked it up and it was in Matt 7.. which after some exploring of the Word I found that it falls in the center of the Sermon of the Mount.. the Sermon begins with Chap 5 and concludes at the end of Chap 7. I found it interesting because in it, Jesus is teaching on a myriad of relevent issues that come up in every life as we try to work out our own salvation. (Phil 2)

(Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.)

It's as though he teaches key things that God says to keep in mind so that you can deal with those things according to the will of God.. and yet, he leaves room for the details according to our free will and the differing personalities that he designed in each of us. In other words, he gives guidelines.. including the Lord's Prayer.

So it seems glaringly evident how grossly misused this passage has become by Christian and Secular voices often times. He is saying that each of us should not judge how the other is working out their salvation in each of these issues as long as they are in submission to the authority of Jesus Christ and sincerely building upon the foundations set in the Bible as a whole. Basically the foundation of God's truth is the same for all of us.. but how we build upon it.. and how different our lives look from one another may be huge. But God says don't look at how different someone else is from you.. or how different their life is from yours.. or how they are walking out their salvation as long as their salvation is rooted in Jesus Christ and his teachings.. Judge not in such cases.

There are times when we are to judge what foundation they are building on.. and to respond according to Scripture in such instances. But the working out of our salvation is a very personal thing as God orders our steps and our heart, as a constant work of messiness on the road to perfection. God says to not let ppl judge you according to when you celebrate the Sabbath.. just be sure you celebrate it. That is a foundation rooted in God.. and yet with the individual and intimate workings of a personal relationship with that same God. There is no sin in such cases.. that is just one example.

The point is that we need to be careful how we judge and when we make a judgement call.. AND YET, when we fail to judge something that God is saying is right and necessary to judge.

Many times we judge based on opinion or the gossip in our circle, whether among family or friends or leadership or work.. whatever circle of peers that we put most of our confidence in.. but it always results in error in such instances, when we put our confidence in those ppl we admire and respect more than in God and his Word and how he says to approach life. Seek wise counsel.. but ALWAYS TAKE IT BACK TO THE WORD AND PRAYER.

And almost always when you do that God will direct you to apporach that person and build relationship, seek to understand their heart, earn the right to be a voice in their life, and as that voice DON'T DICTATE.. rather seek out ways to teach and put things on the table for them to consider.. what they pick up is between them and God. It's not our job to convict anyone.. it's our job to put the truth on the table, to love ppl like Christ loves them (which includes discipline at times, love is always coupled with discipline as that doube-edged sword of God), to encourage them to consider whatever God has put in our heart to share with them.. and then it's up to them to pick up what God compels them to pick up and how they choose to live out their walk with him.

There is a time to judge and a time to judge not.. as in all truth in Scripture...

(MATT 5)
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
The Beatitudes
Salt and Light
Christ Came to Fulfill the Law
Anger
Lust
Divorce
Oaths
Retaliation
Love Your Enemies

(MATT 6)
Giving to the Needy
The Lord's Prayer
Fasting
Do Not Be Anxious

(MATT 7)
Judging Others
Ask, and It Will Be Given
The Golden Rule
A Tree and Its Fruit
I Never Knew You
Build Your House on the Rock
The Authority of Jesus
(SERMON CONCLUDES)