Appropriate Judging
by Dr. Ken Matto
(John 7:24 KJV) Judge not according to the appearance, but
judge righteous judgment.
Don’t Judge me! Who are you to judge? We have all heard these comebacks from
people we try to help. The first thing they do is accuse us of judging. How many
times in church we are told that we should not judge others. Our verse above
tells us that when we do judge, we are to judge righteous judgments. The word
“righteous” in this verse is the Greek word “dikaios” which carries with it the
meanings of “righteous, right, or impartial.” In other words, when we make a
judgment, it is not to be made with a biased mindset, in other words a
prejudicial judgment. The type of judgment which is forbidden in Scripture is
the type of judgment that would denigrate or tear somebody down.
When we make a judgment, it must be done with full knowledge and not with
speculation. Circumstantial judging will always be incorrect. Let me give an
example, we see someone in church who seems always to be broke and right away we
speculate that they are squandering the Lord’s money and doesn’t know how to
budget. So as good pew warmers, we pass a comment which denigrates the character
of that person. The problem is later on we find that this person is taking care
of their elderly parents and must spend much money in their care. You see, we
made a judgment on circumstance and not on fact. Now if we knew, in fact, that
this person was playing the lottery, then we can be a little bit more bold in saying
they are squandering the Lord’s money. Judging other people on speculation or
gossip, is always on dangerous ground and is not of Christian character. A true
judgment requires true facts.
Now when it is correct to judge? The verse above tells us that we are not to judge
according to appearance. The word “appearance” in the Greek carries with it the
meaning of “sight.” We want to make an impartial judgment according to facts and
not according to sight. I remember some years ago hearing a true story about a
minister whose daughter was a prostitute and the only way he was able to see her
was if he went to her place of work and paid to see her. Now if some of the
church people saw him going into that place, what would they think? They would
think that he was committing adultery with a prostitute until they would know
the real truth. That would be judging according to appearance but seeing
something like that would need to be investigated by the Elders of that church.
It would have to be brought to them privately.
In this world we make judgments all the time. What to have for lunch, which way
do I drive to work, what clothes we should wear, what church to attend, where to
go on vacation, etc. We make many mini-decisions every day, some with only
temporary effects. Some judgments we make have long term effects, such as who do
I marry, where should I invest my money, where should I work, what college
should I attend, should I attend college, etc. So the truth is that we make
judgments everyday which affect our lives and those around us, especially if you
are a parent and making decisions for your children. The word “judgment” in the
Greek carries with it the meaning of “decision.” The truth is that we make many
decisions every single day of our lives.
One area of our lives where it is imperative that we make decisions is in the
spiritual realm. As Christians we must be constantly vigilant as to the type of
teachings we are hearing and who we are hearing. If we are hearing a certain
teacher teach a false doctrine, then it behooves us to mark that person and also
to warn others. (Eph 5:11 KJV) And have no
fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
And (Rom 16:17 KJV) Now I beseech you,
brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine
which ye have learned; and avoid them. Here we have
two admonitions from Scripture that we are expose the works of darkness. We must
realize that false teachings are the works of darkness, no matter who is doing
the teaching.
The Bible also commands us to mark those who cause the division. The word “mark”
in the Greek carries with it the meaning of “to look, watch, or note.” There are
many today who are teaching false gospels from the pulpits, the radio, and the
TV, and we are to note those people. If they are teaching a false gospel, then
as Christians it is our responsibility to warn others about them so they will
not be supported. (Gal 6:1 KJV) Brethren, if
a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in
the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
The word “fault “in this verse may also be understood as “sin but rather missing
the right“, it can also carry with it the meaning of “a falling aside.” It also
definitely carries the meaning of falling into a sin or a misdeed.
Now we always look at Galatians 6:1 and quickly attach it to the single idea
that when a Christian falls into sin, then we are to do what we can to help
them, and that is a correct meaning. However, we need to understand in the wider
sense of the essence of this verse that if a Christian falls under the false
teaching of someone, then it is our duty to try and help restore them. A
Christian under the teachings of a false teacher or doctrine needs to be
restored as well as a Christian who has fallen into sin. In this day and age,
many Christians have fallen prey to eloquent teachers who hold to false
teachings, many right in the church. If we know someone who is under false
teachings, then we must make a decision or judgment to help them see the false
teaching they are under. Now if they tell us to get lost, then we get lost. You
can only help a person if they want to be helped.
Unfortunately there will be many times that we will make a proper judgment and
then be unable to implement it. This is very frustrating but we cannot live
anyone else’s life, only ours. Sometimes a person may see the false teaching and
will want the information you have, and if they do and they come out from under
the false teaching, then you have won them. This is why it is so important that
if you make a judgment, that you have all the information available for the
other person, so they can make an informed proper decision or judgment. If you
tell somebody they are wrong and have nothing to back it up, you will lose
credibility and you may not get a second hearing. This is why the Lord said that
we are to make a righteous judgment. That righteous judgment will be sufficient
to help another Christian. If they refuse it, you have done what you can and
there is no need to feel any guilt. Making judgments is a hard part of the
Christian walk but it is a necessary one, not only for ourselves but for those
around us too. (7/30/04)