An interesting thing happened during the opening worship of the 213th General Assembly. As the service began, the congregation stood to sing the first anthem. A great parade of banners, each representing one of our presbyteries, made its way down the center aisle. As the procession reached the “chancel,” it divided - half went to the right; half went to the left. Each banner was placed in a flag stand along the hall’s side walls.
But the stands didn’t hold. Before long, the banners began to cascade to the floor. They fell like dominoes - each in turn taking out another, then another, then another. One set of banners hit the table that held the communion bread and wine. Chalices and patens were knocked to the floor. Clay vessels smashed, wine was spilled. Some people jumped up to sweep up the shards, mop the wet floor and stop the cascade. But the banners kept falling. All through worship, the banners tottered and tumbled, defeating every attempt to shove them back into place, or even just to hold them steady. But for the most part, the “solemn assembly” continued without pause.
Sylvia Dooling, the director of Voices of Orthodox Women, wrote that it seemed to symbolize our brokenness as a church - and, maybe, even the judgment of God. “It’s Humpty Dumpty time,” she said. You remember the nursery rhyme... “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.”
The first Presbytery meeting I went to after that reminded me of that moment. One of my colleagues stood and asked the Presbytery to face squarely the fact that we are a divided church; the response from one of our most active elders was to deny that anything was wrong.
There were three things that happened at General Assembly which pointed to this conclusion.
The first was the routine dismissal of all the overtures dealing with abortion. Commissioners even voted down a request for parental notification - not consent, mind you, just notification - before the Benefits Plan would pay for an abortion for a girl under 18.
The second sign that there was something seriously wrong at this year’s assembly was the fact that we had over an hour of debate on whether or not Jesus Christ is the only one by whom we can be saved. A watered-down version was finally passed. But who would have thought that any Christian - let alone Presbyterians - would ever find it necessary to argue that point?
And the last thing was the 60-40 vote to remove the language in the constitution which requires fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness for all ordained officers.
So I’ve been judging like crazy all week. I think I think we’re dealing with denial, dishonesty, and outright disobedience. I think, in fact, that the decisions the commissioners made were not only erroneous, but sinful.
Am I wrong? Am I in violation of Jesus’ commandment not to judge?
How many times have you heard someone say, “Who am I to judge?” or “I know we are not to judge, but ...” or “That’s being judgmental,” with the clear meaning that “it’s unchristian to say something is wrong.”
What did Jesus mean when he said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged”?
Was he saying that Christians shouldn’t have any opinions? Does it mean that Christians should never criticize anyone? Does it mean that we must be tolerant of all points of view, all “lifestyles,” all choices, all religions? Does it mean that Christians should stop preaching the gospel because the cross is foolishness to the Greek and a stumbling block to the Jews?
In case you were in any doubt, the answer to all of these questions is “No.”
When Jesus said “Judge not” he wasn’t telling his disciples never to judge. In fact, in the very next verse we read, “Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine.” Here Jesus was clearly instructing us to make judgments, not of literal dogs and pigs, but of people. We have to discern who people are and not waste the gospel on those who mock it, who despise it. Jesus calls such people pigs and dogs because they are unclean and dangerous. We are called to judge such people.
Later on Jesus warns his disciples again, saying, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” [Mt 7:15] Here again Jesus was telling us to exercise judgment. He was speaking about religious teachers who preach their personal preferences instead of God’s truth, trapping their followers in lies that lead to spiritual death. These people are as much to be feared as wolves.
So Jesus must mean that some kind of judging is not only okay, it is expected of us. The Greek word for judge is krino, which has a wide range of meanings. It means first, “to judge in a courtroom setting.” It also means “to distinguish between good and evil,” and finally it means “to condemn.” The Bible clearly teaches that Christians have not only a right but a duty to exercise the first two kinds of judgment. So the sense in which Jesus uses it here is the last one, to condemn. His telling his disciples, that’s you and me, “Do not be hypercritical, censorious, or faultfinding.”
Jesus explains what he means in verse 3. “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?” What Jesus is pointing out here is the all-too-human habit of noticing every mistake someone else makes, and then turning around and excusing or justifying our own behavior. Jesus is reminding us that most of us have just as many flaws as the people we criticize - if not more - but we ignore ours and expect everyone else to as well.
Jesus was also speaking out against making hasty judgments before all the facts are in.
A classic example of a pot being caught calling the kettle black occurs in 2 Samuel. Remember King David? He was a great man, a great king, a great poet, and “a man after God’s own heart.” Yet David started taking his rank and privileges for granted; thought he could get away with the sort of thing other Middle Eastern kings did. You all know the story; he committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, and when she got pregnant he had Uriah murdered to keep from getting discovered. But God was watching.
The prophet Nathan came to David and said, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.” [2 Sam 12:2-4]
Well, David was simply furious when he heard this. After all, he was a good man, a moral man, in charge of maintaining justice for his people. And so he said to Nathan, “As YHWH lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” [2 Sam 12:5-6]
And then came the zinger. Nathan said, “You are the man!” [2 Sam 12:7] David was quick to condemn a sin smaller than his own, but couldn’t - wouldn’t - see what he himself had done. The quality that made him a man after God’s own heart was that after Nathan exposed him, David repented. Too many of us continue in denial, still insisting both on our own innocence and on our right to criticize others.
There’s another classic judgment story in Matthew 18. A man who owed a huge sum of money - 10,000 talents, an enormous amount. He went to his creditor, confessed that he didn’t have the money, and threw himself on the lender’s mercy. Well, the creditor forgave the whole debt. But after the man came away from the bank, he saw someone who owed him a small sum, 100 denarii, a little less than a hundred dollars in modern terms. But the first man, who had been forgiven, refused to forgive in turn and instead insisted on full payment of every last cent. The second man pleaded with the first one, but the first refused to show mercy. The large debt is the plank; the small debt is the speck. That is the kind of judgment - the kind we don’t want for ourselves - that Jesus forbids.
John 8 tells another well-known story, this one pitting outwardly virtuous people against an openly sinful one. A group of Pharisees catch a woman committing adultery. Now they didn’t particularly care about the woman and her adultery, mind you, what they were trying to do was catch Jesus out in a denial of the law. So they dragged her before Jesus and demanded, “What do you say about this woman?” they asked. They knew she was a sinner; they just wanted Jesus to confirm their right to punish her. But Jesus told them, “Those who have no sin, cast the first stone,” and we know they all left. Then Jesus told the woman, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” You see, Jesus called her behavior what it was, sin, but he didn’t condemn her. That’s the difference.
Now, you and I know that there is only one person who never sinned: Jesus Christ. But look at these Pharisees. They were so sure they were without sin that they dared to challenge Jesus. They didn’t recognize that the sins of arrogance, self-righteousness, and lack of charity were as ugly in God’s sight as the woman’s unfaithfulness.
So when Jesus told us not to judge, he meant not to be either hypercritical or hypocritical.
There are some very good reasons not to be too quick to judge. Jesus said, “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged. . . .” Judgmentalism becomes a boomerang, because God will use our own measuring stick. Jesus’ brother James wrote, “Speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” [Jas 2:12-13] This is a serious threat Jesus is making here. He is saying, “You may determine the standard, the measure, but remember that it will apply to you.”
Well, OK, we’re supposed to judge, but we’re not supposed to be judgmental. That’s tricky. How can we be sure to get it right? There are two basic principles to keep in mind.
The first one is to “speak the truth in love.” [Eph 4:15] Make sure that what you are saying is true. Don’t go off half-cocked; as our politicians are so fond of saying, “Don’t rush to judgment.” Make sure your position is supported both by the facts and by the Scriptures, and then make sure that you are motivated by love. It’s really easy to fool ourselves about our motivations. Dig out any nasty little feelings of satisfaction. If you can’t weep for the other person’s fall, you probably shouldn’t speak. The whole point of correcting someone is to restore them, not to squash them. Paul wrote, “If anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted.” [Gal 6:1]
The second principle to keep in mind is that we are all still sinners ourselves. If we haven’t been caught in the same sin or even a worse one, it is by God’s grace alone. Either we haven’t had the opportunity or the inclination or the courage, or we were well taught by our parents, or God has simply protected us. Martin Luther spoke of being “simul iustus et peccator,” meaning simultaneously justified and at the same time a sinner. Judge yourself first.
Well, maybe we should just play it safe and just be nice to everyone.
NO! Would you really let someone drive off a cliff if you knew you could help them? I’m told that Hindus don’t approve of saving people’s lives or helping them out of poverty because they’re working out bad karma from previous lives, but Christians have a responsibility for our brothers and sisters. We’ve been commissioned by Jesus to do what he would do if he were here. And that includes calling people to hear and follow the truth. Proverbs tells us, “Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise rebuke to a listening ear.” [Pr 25:12] It’s a gift. It may be one of those things which is more blessed to give than to receive, but a wise and loving correction IS a gift. Psalm 141:5 says, “Let the righteous strike me; let the faithful correct me.” If we don’t have anyone in our lives who will correct us when we have taken a wrong turn, we are poor indeed. If we don’t have anyone who will teach us the truth in the face of false and dangerous teachings, we are not only poor, we are in danger for our very lives and souls.
The Roman Empire at the beginning of the Christian era was one of the most religiously diverse in history. You could worship anyone or anything. There was the Egyptian Isis, the Roman soldier’s Mithras, the Persian Zoroaster, hundreds of gods and goddesses, each with their own rituals and followers. It was all okay with Rome, as long as once a year you showed up at the local temple, tossed an offering into the pot, and muttered, “Caesar is Lord.” You didn’t even have to mean it, you just had to say it. The Christians died because they refused to acknowledge any other Lord.
Well, here we are in another religiously diverse society. We are told that it’s offensive to say “Jesus is Lord,” and that evangelism may be considered hate speech. We’re asked to accept all choices, lifestyles and religions as equally valid.
If ever we needed to be able to tell the difference between right and wrong, it is now. But if ever we needed to guard against condemning, it is also now. Because our brothers and sisters who are swallowing the lie of relativism are also beloved by God - and our theology isn’t perfect either.
The condition of our denomination is indeed critical; it may even be terminal. But let our own consciences be clear. God does not call us either to condemn or abandon our brothers and sisters, but to work, in truth and in love, for their restoration. “Wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it... All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work... I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. [2 Tim 3:13-4:2] That is our job. Let us get on with it.
