Judge righteously!
St John 7: 19-24
Judge Righteously!
"I wish to say that it is fine to judge and oftentimes, constructive judgment helps us to improve ourselves.
The only reservation to judgment is to avoid making unrighteous judgments like the Jews who wanted to kill the Lord Jesus because He appears to break the Sabbatical laws. Frivolous judgment is also a form of unrighteous judgment which should be avoided."
This week’s message is taken from the Bible passage in St John 7:19-24. The Lord Jesus was teaching the Jews in the temple during the Feast of Tabernacles. In the feast, some Jews longed to hear His teachings, but there was also a group, especially the religious leaders who were jealous of the Lord’s popularity. These envious Jews desired to charge and sentence the Lord Jesus to death on the grounds of breaking the Sabbath regulation when the Lord healed the paralysed man on a Sabbath day.
The following is a brief commentary of the passage to help us understand the rationale behind the Lord Jesus’ statement when he told the Jews that they must judge matters in a righteous manner.
A brief commentary of verses 19-24
When the Lord healed the paralysed man on a Sabbath (John 5:16), the Jewish leaders wanted to use this reason to accuse the Lord of breaking the Sabbatical laws (i.e. Exodus 31:15), with the intention of killing Him. However, not all the Jews present had that intention. That was the reason why some of the Jews expressed surprise over such an evil motive.
The Lord defended Himself by reminding the Jews that they had all broken the Sabbath laws too. Why then, are they not judging these lawbreakers? He pointed to the fact that the Jews also carried out circumcision on the Sabbath day.
The following is a commentary made by C. J. Ellicott:
The argument is, “Ye circumcise on the Sabbath day because circumcision is part of the Mosaic law; but Moses gave you circumcision because he had an anterior and higher authority for it, and in practice you recognise this and make it override the Sabbath. But if circumcision is allowed, why not a deed of mercy? This is the practice and precept of your rulers. But if a patriarchal rite is greater than the Mosaic Sabbath, because the fathers were anterior to Moses, how much more an act of love, which is anterior to all time.”
Based on the above premise, the Lord Jesus taught the Jews not to make casual judgements by appearance, but to judge all matters carefully and righteously. If circumcision on the Sabbath is allowed, more so an act of love to heal a person should be allowed.
The subject of Judging
Before I commence on how we can judge righteously, I feel it is important to make some clarification on the subject of ‘Judging’. In Matthew 7:1, it appears to tell us not to judge anything.
“Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
Errors of Biblical interpretations take place when we interpret a verse on its own and come to a conclusion. It is important for us to read the verses preceding it and the verses after it before we reach a conclusion. Furthermore, we must read other passages of the Bible on the subject to see how the whole context relates to each other before we come to a unified wholesome teaching.
In the subsequent verses after Matthew 7:1, the Lord teaches us not to judge others before you judge your own shortcomings. This command does not mean that we should not judge anything ― but we have to carefully examine ourselves first before passing any form of judgement on others.
In reality, we are constantly making judgments in many things and it does play an important role. If we don’t judge anything, how do we come to the conclusion that certain manners or beliefs are wrong? For instance, on the subject of the women putting on a veil during worship, we have to make a judgment based on the word of God in 1 Corinthians 11: 1-6, and teach those who do not put on a veil in the Assembly worship services that they are contradicting the word of God.
In fact, the process of judging impartially and righteously helps to keep us close to God. For example, a timely reminder of a Christian who neglects going to church on Sunday by another believer is certainly needful. Being liberal in all matters may sound very generous ―but the outcome is a loose and unbridled society whether it is secular or ecclesiastical.
The act of judging
Judging is an activity that is not confined only to a judge in a court of law or to the leaders in a church who judge the adherence to spiritual matters. Everyone is involved in the activity of judging. We judge what a person wears, how he speaks or the merits of protests being carried out in a nation. I am very sure that everyone who reads this article will also make a judgment over its contents. I wish to say that it is fine to judge and oftentimes, constructive judgment helps us to improve ourselves.
The only reservation to judgment is to avoid making unrighteous judgments like the Jews who wanted to kill the Lord Jesus because He appears to break the Sabbatical laws. Frivolous judgment is also a form of unrighteous judgment which should be avoided. In my personal opinion, the judgment made against a pastor for making a pronunciation error is a form of frivolous judgment.
Carrying out righteous judgment
The advice below on righteous judgement would guide Christians to make correct judgements in spiritual matters. It will also offer sound guidance to us in our relationship with our fellow beings.
1. Prayer
James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Wisdom from God is essential in making decisions. God needs to be our source of wisdom and not our education or position in society. A Christian should always start in prayer, seeking God’s help in every issue that he or she needs to judge.
2. The word of God
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
The word of God is our constitution and guide book. All judgments must only be made after carefully considering what the word of God says. The issue in question must be judged in accordance to the word of God and in line with its contextual meaning.
On the subject of a Bible translation, I would recommend the King James Version (KJV). It is a good translation and since this article does not focus on the virtues of Bible translations, I hope the readers will accept my recommendation.
For readers who wish to know more about the virtues of the KJV, Pastor SH Tow article on “An urgent plea for Christian…” is illuminating (https://www.biblefortoday.org/PDF/dkjb_appendix.pdf).
3. Privacy
Matthew 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
The above instruction is very important to maintain peace in the church and amongst our Christian brothers and sisters. Keep the dispute private between yourselves as much as possible. Witnesses or the church should only be called upon if the matter cannot be resolved privately, Matthew 18:16-17.
4. Consideration of others
Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Righteous judgment involves a conscious effort to consider people’s feelings. It is always easy to be an armchair critic. The best badminton player will still lose occasionally. When we give our judgment, learn to be gracious in your judgment. In Colossians 4:6, Paul teaches us to “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man”.
Do not belittle others with your judgment wherever possible.
5. Be impartial
James 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
It cannot be overemphasized that in our judgment, we must avoid giving respect to persons. It is always important to be impartial and this means that we should avoid giving special privileges to someone important or useful to us in our lives. The natural man is so prone to this tendency of being partial that James in his epistle in James 2:2-4 provides a clear illustration of man’s evil tendencies.
6. Weighing the issues
1 Cor 8:13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
As I mentioned earlier, all of us are making judgment both consciously or even unconsciously. It is not a sin to judge. However, before expressing a judgement on something, apart from considering other people’s feelings as mentioned above, we have to also weigh the importance of judging a particular issue to avoid making frivolous judgements.
In the course of speaking, writing or working, all of us make some silly mistakes. We need to understand that if we wish to express a judgment of another person’s mistakes, let each person carefully weigh the issue first. The person judging the issue must first consider the importance of the issue he wishes to judge. Is the issue under judgment doctrinally wrong? Does the issue stumble another person’s faith? Will the issue cause the message of the Gospel to be distorted? Or is it an issue about a person’s dress preference?
In the above quotation (i.e. 1 Corinthians 8:13), Paul knows that he can eat all types of food. However, if a brother refuses to eat a certain type of food, he (Paul) would not take a hard stand but adjust to the brother. In the book of Romans, Paul mentioned the following:
Romans 15:1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
He is not teaching us to indiscriminately adjust to the weak in everything, but only if the matters involved are not cardinal.
Before I end this article on righteous judgment, let us consider a verse in 1 Corinthians 6:1 and adhere to the Apostle Paul’s teaching: “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?”
Christian judging one another in matters concerning the faith should not be brought to the secular courts. We are rulers in the heavenly kingdom and matters concerning the church should be resolved within. In 1 Corinthians 6:3, Paul said, “Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?" If a Christian insists on such a course of action, it is better to be wrong(1 Corinthians 6:7) than to pursue the matter in the secular court to decide on spiritual matters.
May God guide us to make righteous judgements.
With God’s blessings,
CL
The following is a brief commentary of the passage to help us understand the rationale behind the Lord Jesus’ statement when he told the Jews that they must judge matters in a righteous manner.
A brief commentary of verses 19-24
When the Lord healed the paralysed man on a Sabbath (John 5:16), the Jewish leaders wanted to use this reason to accuse the Lord of breaking the Sabbatical laws (i.e. Exodus 31:15), with the intention of killing Him. However, not all the Jews present had that intention. That was the reason why some of the Jews expressed surprise over such an evil motive.
The Lord defended Himself by reminding the Jews that they had all broken the Sabbath laws too. Why then, are they not judging these lawbreakers? He pointed to the fact that the Jews also carried out circumcision on the Sabbath day.
The following is a commentary made by C. J. Ellicott:
The argument is, “Ye circumcise on the Sabbath day because circumcision is part of the Mosaic law; but Moses gave you circumcision because he had an anterior and higher authority for it, and in practice you recognise this and make it override the Sabbath. But if circumcision is allowed, why not a deed of mercy? This is the practice and precept of your rulers. But if a patriarchal rite is greater than the Mosaic Sabbath, because the fathers were anterior to Moses, how much more an act of love, which is anterior to all time.”
Based on the above premise, the Lord Jesus taught the Jews not to make casual judgements by appearance, but to judge all matters carefully and righteously. If circumcision on the Sabbath is allowed, more so an act of love to heal a person should be allowed.
The subject of Judging
Before I commence on how we can judge righteously, I feel it is important to make some clarification on the subject of ‘Judging’. In Matthew 7:1, it appears to tell us not to judge anything.
“Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
Errors of Biblical interpretations take place when we interpret a verse on its own and come to a conclusion. It is important for us to read the verses preceding it and the verses after it before we reach a conclusion. Furthermore, we must read other passages of the Bible on the subject to see how the whole context relates to each other before we come to a unified wholesome teaching.
In the subsequent verses after Matthew 7:1, the Lord teaches us not to judge others before you judge your own shortcomings. This command does not mean that we should not judge anything ― but we have to carefully examine ourselves first before passing any form of judgement on others.
In reality, we are constantly making judgments in many things and it does play an important role. If we don’t judge anything, how do we come to the conclusion that certain manners or beliefs are wrong? For instance, on the subject of the women putting on a veil during worship, we have to make a judgment based on the word of God in 1 Corinthians 11: 1-6, and teach those who do not put on a veil in the Assembly worship services that they are contradicting the word of God.
In fact, the process of judging impartially and righteously helps to keep us close to God. For example, a timely reminder of a Christian who neglects going to church on Sunday by another believer is certainly needful. Being liberal in all matters may sound very generous ―but the outcome is a loose and unbridled society whether it is secular or ecclesiastical.
The act of judging
Judging is an activity that is not confined only to a judge in a court of law or to the leaders in a church who judge the adherence to spiritual matters. Everyone is involved in the activity of judging. We judge what a person wears, how he speaks or the merits of protests being carried out in a nation. I am very sure that everyone who reads this article will also make a judgment over its contents. I wish to say that it is fine to judge and oftentimes, constructive judgment helps us to improve ourselves.
The only reservation to judgment is to avoid making unrighteous judgments like the Jews who wanted to kill the Lord Jesus because He appears to break the Sabbatical laws. Frivolous judgment is also a form of unrighteous judgment which should be avoided. In my personal opinion, the judgment made against a pastor for making a pronunciation error is a form of frivolous judgment.
Carrying out righteous judgment
The advice below on righteous judgement would guide Christians to make correct judgements in spiritual matters. It will also offer sound guidance to us in our relationship with our fellow beings.
1. Prayer
James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Wisdom from God is essential in making decisions. God needs to be our source of wisdom and not our education or position in society. A Christian should always start in prayer, seeking God’s help in every issue that he or she needs to judge.
2. The word of God
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
The word of God is our constitution and guide book. All judgments must only be made after carefully considering what the word of God says. The issue in question must be judged in accordance to the word of God and in line with its contextual meaning.
On the subject of a Bible translation, I would recommend the King James Version (KJV). It is a good translation and since this article does not focus on the virtues of Bible translations, I hope the readers will accept my recommendation.
For readers who wish to know more about the virtues of the KJV, Pastor SH Tow article on “An urgent plea for Christian…” is illuminating (https://www.biblefortoday.org/PDF/dkjb_appendix.pdf).
3. Privacy
Matthew 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
The above instruction is very important to maintain peace in the church and amongst our Christian brothers and sisters. Keep the dispute private between yourselves as much as possible. Witnesses or the church should only be called upon if the matter cannot be resolved privately, Matthew 18:16-17.
4. Consideration of others
Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Righteous judgment involves a conscious effort to consider people’s feelings. It is always easy to be an armchair critic. The best badminton player will still lose occasionally. When we give our judgment, learn to be gracious in your judgment. In Colossians 4:6, Paul teaches us to “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man”.
Do not belittle others with your judgment wherever possible.
5. Be impartial
James 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
It cannot be overemphasized that in our judgment, we must avoid giving respect to persons. It is always important to be impartial and this means that we should avoid giving special privileges to someone important or useful to us in our lives. The natural man is so prone to this tendency of being partial that James in his epistle in James 2:2-4 provides a clear illustration of man’s evil tendencies.
6. Weighing the issues
1 Cor 8:13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
As I mentioned earlier, all of us are making judgment both consciously or even unconsciously. It is not a sin to judge. However, before expressing a judgement on something, apart from considering other people’s feelings as mentioned above, we have to also weigh the importance of judging a particular issue to avoid making frivolous judgements.
In the course of speaking, writing or working, all of us make some silly mistakes. We need to understand that if we wish to express a judgment of another person’s mistakes, let each person carefully weigh the issue first. The person judging the issue must first consider the importance of the issue he wishes to judge. Is the issue under judgment doctrinally wrong? Does the issue stumble another person’s faith? Will the issue cause the message of the Gospel to be distorted? Or is it an issue about a person’s dress preference?
In the above quotation (i.e. 1 Corinthians 8:13), Paul knows that he can eat all types of food. However, if a brother refuses to eat a certain type of food, he (Paul) would not take a hard stand but adjust to the brother. In the book of Romans, Paul mentioned the following:
Romans 15:1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
He is not teaching us to indiscriminately adjust to the weak in everything, but only if the matters involved are not cardinal.
Before I end this article on righteous judgment, let us consider a verse in 1 Corinthians 6:1 and adhere to the Apostle Paul’s teaching: “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?”
Christian judging one another in matters concerning the faith should not be brought to the secular courts. We are rulers in the heavenly kingdom and matters concerning the church should be resolved within. In 1 Corinthians 6:3, Paul said, “Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?" If a Christian insists on such a course of action, it is better to be wrong(1 Corinthians 6:7) than to pursue the matter in the secular court to decide on spiritual matters.
May God guide us to make righteous judgements.
With God’s blessings,
CL
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