Are We to Judge?
In recent years there has been a shift in the church concerning the idea of judging. If we
attempt to point out something that is scripturally wrong we will frequently hear
comments like ’judge not, lest you be judged’. Does the Bible tell us that we are not
allowed to judge between right and wrong, good and bad, truth and error? How do we
obey God’s commands to uphold the truth and stand against wickedness while keeping
judgmental attitudes in balance? This study will attempt to add clarification to this issue.
To judge or not to judge
The first thing we must do is to put Jesus’ warning into the context in which it was given.
In Matthew 7, Jesus said:
1 "Judge not, that you be not judged.
2 "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure
you use, it will be measured back to you.
This is not a warning not to judge but that we will be judged according to the standard we
choose. In Romans we are warned not to judge others when we are doing the same things.
If we know something is wrong, we become a witness against ourselves if we are
committing the same acts. We also don’t have the right to judge someone’s heart, but
when warranted, we are to judge someone’s actions and words according to truth. If we
are not permitted to judge, it becomes impossible to distinguish between right and wrong.
Contrary to common opinion, the Bible commands us to judge. 1 Thessalonians 5
commands us:
21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.
22 Abstain from every form of evil.
Testing is judging between right and wrong. The devil has successfully removed our
ability to measure truth by convincing God’s people that it is wrong to judge. It is not
judging that is wrong, it is the standard by which we judge and the motives behind our
judgment. Jesus gave the standard for judging. Look at these two passages:
John 7
24 "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."
John 12
48 "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges
him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
Judgment is not according to appearance or personal preference, but according to God’s
own righteous judgment which was revealed in His word. It is God’s word that judges
between right and wrong and we are to test all things by evaluating it against the word of
God. The Bible constantly reiterates a foundational truth - God does not change. His
word does not change. Anything that disagrees with God’s unchanging word is not true.
Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My word will never pass away"
(Matthew 24). In Psalms, God tells us that His word is equal to His name:
NKJV Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your
name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your
word above all Your name.
NIV Psalm 138:2 I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your
name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.
I have included two versions for the sake of clarity. The original Hebrew may be
accurately translated as ’Your word above Your name’ or ’Your word and name above all
things’. However, either way we translate it the intent is the same. God’s word is equal to
or greater than His name. If we think for a moment, we will realize the significance of
this principle. If a person keeps changing their position, what do we think of their
principles? If someone makes a promise and does not follow through, how valuable is
their name? The Bible calls God our Rock. He does not change and He does not move.
The stability of His word is essential so that can have confidence in our faith. Who can
put their trust in someone who changes based on circumstances, comfort or preference?
Because God’s word cannot change, we can confidently lay down His word as the
straight stick of truth and reveal what is crooked. Look at Matthew 5:
17 " Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come
to destroy but to fulfill.
18 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one
tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
19 "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and
teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does
and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
The straight truth is that those who teach God’s word faithfully are with God and those
who alter or contradict it are against God. There is no such thing as a new revelation that
is contrary to what God has already revealed in His word. We are to judge doctrine and
truth righteously and this is only possible by comparing it to Scripture.
Judging According to the Word
Look at John 14:
23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;
and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with
him.
24 "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you
hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
According to the truth of scripture, we can determine if we or those who preach and teach
are in the love of God. If anyone loves Christ, he or she will keep God’s word. We may
not be able to judge someone’s salvation, but we can clearly judge whether or not they
are in an abiding relationship with Christ. If someone rejects God’s commands, they do
not love God. If someone refutes scripture or teaches a doctrine that contradicts scripture,
they do not love God. They may say that they love God, but it is not possible to love God
and align ourselves against His word. Some my call that judgmental, but Jesus plainly
stated this truth.
Because Jesus gave us a clear measurement to distinguish between those who love God
and those who do not, we can easily identify many false teachers. What is our
responsibility when we identify someone who teaches doctrine contrary to God’s word? 2
John 2 instructs us:
9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not
have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the
Son.
10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him
into your house nor greet him;
11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.
The Bible commands in unmistakable terms that if someone brings a doctrine that is
contrary to scripture, we are not to welcome them as a teacher on any level. This does not
mean that we condemn them, but rather that we uphold the truth with the hope of
repentance. Keep in mind that the early church did not have church buildings. Most
churches were house churches. I believe the instruction not to let them into your house is
intended to make it plain that we are not to give them a platform to teach their false
doctrines. Remember, these are teachers of false doctrine, not merely misled people who
need to be taught the truth. The intent of the passage is that they are bringing in doctrine
contrary to Christ for the purpose of teaching others. We are not to allow them in to
spread this doctrine. This principle would equally apply to churches and any other place
that others are taught in God’s name.
Verse 11 makes it clear that those who give these teachers a platform to spread their
heresy are partakers in their evil deeds. God will judge us along with them if we idly sit
by and allow false teachers to lead people astray. The Bible gives the warning that
teachers will receive a stricter judgment. The reason teachers will be held to a higher
standard is because their error affects many others. If we allow heresy to go unchecked
and we share in their evil deeds, then we also will be held to that strict judgment. It is no
small matter to allow anti-Christian doctrine to be taught within the church.
Identifying False Teachers
Look now at 2 Peter 2:
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false
teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying
the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth
will be blasphemed.
3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time
their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
Notice that these teachers use deceptive tactics to bring destructive heresies secretly into
the church. Heresy simply means false teaching that is contrary to God’s word. We have
been warned beforehand that many people will follow them to destruction. I have heard
people ask, "Can that many people be wrong?" Yes. There is no safety in numbers.
Safety is only found in truth. If their message was openly and blatantly anti-Christian,
who would follow them? False teachers use tactics to gain trust. They will give a pound
of truth to gain your trust and then slip in small doses of their doctrine once they feel
confident that they will be heeded. When a false teacher begins, they often sound very
orthodox, but as they gain trust, they will become more and more blatant as time goes by.
Eventually these teachers can say almost anything and be applauded because they are
considered to be ’God’s spokesman’. Truth is abandoned and their words become the
measure of truth instead of scripture.
Will the Holy Spirit reveal truth that is contrary to scripture? Galatians 1 answers that
question:
6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the
grace of Christ, to a different gospel,
7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert
the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than
what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other
gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
The word ’accursed’ comes from the Greek word ’anathema’ which means a person or
thing that is doomed to destruction. Consider the weight of this passage. The apostle Paul
truly was God’s messenger. God used Paul to write 2/3rds of the New Testament. Paul
was used to spread Christianity throughout the known world. He started many churches
and even did miracles. Yet Paul said that if he comes back one day and teaches
something contrary to what has already been delivered, count him as someone destined
for God’s destruction. Then the Bible goes on two warn that even if an angel of light
stands before you and claims that God has sent him to deliver a truth that is contrary to
what has already been revealed, the angel is to be counted as accursed by God. This
principle is so important that Paul repeated it to make sure the point is not missed. New
truth is really a lie if it does not align with scripture.
Rejecting False Prophets
If the Bible says that God’s own angel from heaven is to be accounted as doomed, why
do we think this does not apply to men who claim to be apostles and prophets today? Paul
was God’s anointed, but the Bible says that he would be doomed if he delivered new
revelation contrary to what has been delivered. Why would this be true? Because God
will never change and His word will never change. Anyone claiming to be of God and
contradicting scripture is a liar. An angel of light delivering a contrary message is the
devil himself and those who claim to be prophets are his own ministers, not God’s. Harsh
words? It comes directly from scripture. Look at 2 Corinthians 11
12 But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity
from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of
which they boast.
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into
apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into
ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
Can satan’s ministers masquerade as apostles and ministers of righteousness? Absolutely.
Satan does not walk in the front door of a church and announce his intentions. He
masquerades as a bearer of truth. The devil will give you as much truth as it takes to get
you to bite into the lie. Unless you are grounded in the word of God, you will not
recognize the lie when it is counterfeited. Can a false prophet that the Bible calls a
minister of satan do good things? Deuteronomy 13 answers this question:
1 "If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you
a sign or a wonder,
2 "and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying,
’Let us go after other gods’ -- which you have not known -- ’and let us serve them,’
3 "you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for
the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your
God with all your heart and with all your soul.
4 "You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His
commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to
Him.
God allows these people to arise to test you. Do you love God, or are you just looking to
use God for selfish motives? We saw earlier that those who truly love God will cleave to
His word. Anyone can say, ’I love God’, but the evidence is found in your choice.
Anyone can say, ’Jesus is Lord’, but if their Jesus is not the Jesus of scripture, this
statement means nothing. As we move into this study to compare false teaching to
scripture, we will see that false teachers do indeed ask us to go after other gods. They
may call an idol the true God, but it is still ’other gods’ if it is not the God who has
revealed Himself in scripture. They may call the spirit who guides them the Holy Spirit,
but if it does not confirm scripture and point to Christ, it is nothing but a spirit of
deception.
We will be accused of attacking God’s anointed when we obey scripture and test their
doctrine, but in reality, we are defending, not attacking. If a teacher presents his doctrine
to me and I compare it to scripture, is that an attack? Of course not. However, I have
found that almost 100% of the time, I am called the aggressor when I openly use the
scriptures to validate a prominent teacher’s doctrine. Even so, I am mandated by scripture
to do so or else I am a partaker of their deeds. The apostles were punished severely for
presenting the truth of Christ, but they said, "We ought to obey God and not man". In this
country we don’t have to fear severe punishment. Even so, the church has been
unknowingly taught to fear man instead of God. The Bible says that we are not to be
afraid of the threats of false prophets nor listen to their words, yet people tremble at their
curses and fear that they will be judged by God at the warnings of these teachers that God
has already condemned. No man can curse a child of God. We are cursed or blessed
based on whether we choose to love or reject God. The Bible says that God will turn their
curses into a blessing if we are faithful.
In Conclusion
If we are commanded to test doctrine in order to determine what is good and evil, how
can we think that we are not allowed to judge? Why does the Bible warn us to be on
guard and watch out for false teachers if we are not to question them for fear of being
called attackers? We are mandated by scripture to judge, identify and stand against false
teachers by upholding the truth. Our goal is not to prove others wrong. Our ultimate goal
is to bring others to repentance by upholding truth. Ideally we want the teacher to see the
truth and respond. Equally important if not more important, our intentions should also be
to keep others from falling into satan’s traps. John 4:24 says, "God is Spirit, and those
who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." Without truth, worship and our
relationship with God are not possible. If we allow faith to be perverted, we are partakers
at the height of injustice. The world around us is lost and dying without Christ. If we
allow Christianity to be conformed to the world, who can be saved? We are to be calling
the world to get off the sinking ship, not getting into the ship with them. If the church
tolerates the lie, who will share the truth?
In Jeremiah 23, the Bible says:
30 " Therefore behold, I am against the prophets," says the LORD, "who steal My
words every one from his neighbor.
31 "Behold, I am against the prophets," says the LORD, "who use their tongues
and say, ’He says.’
32 "Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," says the LORD,
"and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness.
Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this
people at all," says the LORD.
If God is against them, and we are commanded to identify them by their doctrine, we
must judge according to the truth of God’s word. He will not change and His word will
not change. We must either conform to Christ through the Word of God, or we must
conform to the world and the doctrines that point us to it. God does not allow for
compromise when it comes to truth.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
http://www.exchangedlife.com
