To Judge or Not to Judge?
Guest Article Written by Will Jacobs
Have you experienced a situation in which you lovingly
sought to correct another Christian concerning a serious sin in their life,
only to receive a most offended “Don’t judge me!”? The underlying assumption
presupposes that condemning someone’s sinful actions disobeys Christ command to
judge not that you be not judged (Matthew 7:1). Besides, didn’t Jesus say that
one should remove the log from their own eye before pointing out the speck in
another’s? Likewise, did he not tell the Pharisees, concerning the
adulteress woman, “let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a
stone at he (John 8:7)?” But are these conclusions correct? Is it wrong for
Christians to point out other Christians sinless lifestyles? How do we respond
to Jesus’ words “judge not"?
As one studies the Bible it becomes clearly evident that
the above responses to the issue of judging are sadly mistaken. The position
that Christians are prohibited to admonish and rebuke one another’s immoral
behavior results in a relative and subjective code of Christian ethics. That
is, removal of spiritual accountability and church discipline allows for each
individual Christian to live life in any manner he or she wishes. Furthermore, this
illogical position goes contrary to the biblical position on the issue as we
will see. The Bible speaks clearly on the Christian’s responsibility and
obligation to hold each other accountable to the teachings of the Bible.
The Bible is clear that Christians are to hold each other
to spiritual and godly standards of moral conduct. The same Jesus who said that
we are not to judge also gave commands to confront Christians who are living
immorally. In Matthew 18:15-20 Jesus prescribes how the church is to go about
dealing with someone who sins against another. The person who has been sinned
against is to go and confront them about their sinful behavior. If the person
does not repent, then they are to take two to three others with him and
confront the person a second time. Finally, If the person still refrains to
change they are to be taken in front of the church and given an opportunity to
repent. If the person still refuses to change then he is to be released from
the congregation.
The apostle Paul provides a case in point in the book of
1 Corinthians 5. Apparently a son was having sexual relations with his father’s
wife and the church of Corinth was condoning the behavior. The response from
Paul may seem shocking to some. He plainly states that the church, rather than
condoning the sinful activity, should be mourning the immoral behavior. But
that’s not the shocker. What appear harsh are the words that follow. Paul
states that in his absence he had already cast judgment (same word that Jesus
used in Matthew 7), not just on the situation, but on the “one who did such a
thing.” Later in the passage Paul states some additional shocking words:
9 I wrote to you in my letter
not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the
sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters,
since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to
you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty
of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or
swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging
outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God
judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
This passage seems to go contrary to the way that most
think about judging. In my estimation the contemporary church flips this logic
on its head. We do a fine job of judging the un-churched but stray away from
confronting the immoral behavior of the Christian, stating that it is wrong to
judge each other. Contrarily, the apostle Paul states that we are not
to judge those outside the church but are to judge
those inside the church. Paul’s reasoning seems rational. The
foundational reason we are to take serious the sins of Christian’s inside the
church is because sin in the church affects the health of the entire church.
Thus, Paul says in verse 6 “do you not know that a little leaven leavens the
whole lump?” In other words, sinfulness within the church doesn’t just affect
the person sinning; it also affects the health of the church as a whole.
Therefore, when sinfulness is brought into the church the church has an obligation
to confront it, and remove it so as to not be affected and ultimately damaged
by its disease.
Although judging is obligatory upon the church toward
Christians who live openly and habitual sinful lifestyles, it should always be
done in love and with the hope of reconciliation. In the passage mentioned
earlier in Matthew 18 Jesus concludes his thought with a very familiar (and
usually misinterpreted) passage: “For where two or three are gathered in my
name, there am I among them.” Here Jesus is referring to one who repents of his
sinful ways and reconciles with the brother he sinned against. The entire
reasoning behind church discipline is for reconciliation. Similarly, Paul in 1
Corinthians 5 is not pictured as a bully thrashing all Christians with shortcomings.
In fact, Paul mentions elsewhere that “all have fallen short of the glory of
God (Romans 3:23),” and even referred to himself as the “chief of sinners (1
Timothy 1:15).” Paul’s hope in confronting the young man in 1 Corinthians 5 was
that he would ultimately see his sin, repent, and be reconciled to the church
(see verse 5). Elsewhere Paul calls for church discipline and confrontation to
be done in gentleness, “brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression,
you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness (Galatians
6:1).” This word “gentleness” is a medical term and was used in reference to
mending a broken bone. Thus, we as Christians must confront, but do so with the
utmost gentleness and love.
As Christians we are called to love one another. But,
love involves telling each other the truth and drawing each other’s attention
to sinful behavior that we may be blinded to. In doing so, we not only help the
individual who is blinded to their sin (see James 5:19-20), but also protect
the Church body from sin leaking in (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). Ultimately, our hope
is that we are continually being reconciled with one another and with God our
father.
Have you ever experienced a situation like the one
described above? What do you think of the conclusions made here; do you think
Christians have a place for judging each other?