Judging People
Perhaps one of the most misunderstood concepts today in America is about judging people. All of the time, we hear people say that we are not supposed to judge anyone for anything. This is a misunderstanding of Matthew 7. I am going to briefly explain it this morning based on King Solomon's request, when God told him to ask for whatever he wanted from the Lord.(I Kings 3:9) Solomon asked for an understanding heart to be able to judge people and discern between good and evil. This pleased God very much. He did not tell Solomon not to judge people.
Matthew 7 is referring to not being critical of people. We should never judge people down, put them down, or criticize them. However, if you read the complete context, Jesus told us to get the log out of our own eye, and then go and get the speck out of our brother's eye. He told us that if we see a brother or sister in sin, we should go and help them stop sinning. That is good judging. That is what Solomon wanted to do. He showed that when he judged the 2 women who were arguing over the baby. The mother of the dead baby was wrong to steal the other baby, and that situation had to be judged and set straight. This type of judging needs to be done well all of the time.
How can we judge people in a righteous way? We have God's Word, the Bible. If anyone fails to do what the Lord says for us to do in His Word, it is a sin. Then, we can judge them by their own actions, words, and attitudes. We don't make our judgment in our wisdom, but in God's wisdom, based on His Word. If we stop doing the right kind of judgment, everyone will sin more and more, thinking they are fine. That is what our world has come to. We live in a day when we do not want to be told that anything is wrong. That is pure foolishness. Of course, there is good and evil. However, without judging correctly people lose their way, and they think wrong is right and right is wrong.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Kings 6-8
Matthew 7 is referring to not being critical of people. We should never judge people down, put them down, or criticize them. However, if you read the complete context, Jesus told us to get the log out of our own eye, and then go and get the speck out of our brother's eye. He told us that if we see a brother or sister in sin, we should go and help them stop sinning. That is good judging. That is what Solomon wanted to do. He showed that when he judged the 2 women who were arguing over the baby. The mother of the dead baby was wrong to steal the other baby, and that situation had to be judged and set straight. This type of judging needs to be done well all of the time.
How can we judge people in a righteous way? We have God's Word, the Bible. If anyone fails to do what the Lord says for us to do in His Word, it is a sin. Then, we can judge them by their own actions, words, and attitudes. We don't make our judgment in our wisdom, but in God's wisdom, based on His Word. If we stop doing the right kind of judgment, everyone will sin more and more, thinking they are fine. That is what our world has come to. We live in a day when we do not want to be told that anything is wrong. That is pure foolishness. Of course, there is good and evil. However, without judging correctly people lose their way, and they think wrong is right and right is wrong.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Kings 6-8