Monday, October 27, 2014

Thou Shalt Judge

**WARNING!!**  This posting is not Politically Correct.  Not even close.  :)



Did you know that it is not only ok, but biblical to judge?  (see Mt. 7:15-20; John 7:24; 1 Cor 5:11-13...just to name a few) )  Today you are absolutely condemned if you stand up and say that something is "Wrong."  Groupthink says that things are never wrong, just different. (unless of course you disagree with this post-modern philosophy; then you are...wrong)

But Christians DO have the biblical mandate (that is so often misapplied and thrown in our faces) to "Judge not, lest ye be judged." (Matthew 7:1).  So are we to never stand up and say what's going on around us is wrong?  Let's bring this home by looking at the two most prevalent examples in our world right now:

Are we unloving to say that homosexuality is sin?  Are we wrong to declare that homosexual "marriage" is destructive not only to the immediate people involved, but also our country?

What about Islam? Are we being prideful, ignorant and narrow minded in saying that it is a false religion that is deceiving millions of people around the world?  That it is the most common factor behind the horrible acts of terrorism happening around the globe today? Are we wrong to take a stand against Sharia Law both here and abroad?  Isn't that culturally insensitive? Intolerant? Bigoted?

Well, we have been told so. And many Christians I know are confused and stay silent because have adopted the "live and let live" philosophy of this world.  But a Christian who understands a biblical worldview knows that adopting this philosophy is more like "we'll live, but we'll let you die."

So how do we walk this biblical line?  Is it possible to love, serve and respect someone who you totally disagree with?  Is it possible to stand against an agenda that someone you know and love wholeheartedly supports without shattering the relationship or at the very least continue loving them?  Does love mean (as we are being told today) that we never rebuke? Does it mean that we have to approve and embrace everything someone does?

Paul gives us the key when he says in Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."  
How does this help?  Because Paul shows us the distinction that the PERSON is different from the spirit/idea/philosophy/culture/etc. influencing them.  

It is not only ok, but it is right to continue to preach God's Truth in a world that is rejecting it.  There is still only ONE way, ONE truth and ONE life and that is through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  (Jn. 14:6) It is absolutely right to stand up and judge something wrong or evil if that is what God's Word says that it is, even if it offends or hurts someone's 'feelers.'  The warning Jesus gave about "Don't judge or you too will be judged" was followed by the words "with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  I'm ok with this!  I use God's Word, not with self-righteousness or a sense of superiority.  In fact it is the "Measure" that every human in existence WILL be measured by. I'm a wreck in need of a Savior!  I fall upon His grace all the time! And by that grace I am slowly becoming more free and more like Him.  

We have permission to judge according to God's Word, because it is not the standard of our own selves or our own performance that we are using.  There is certainly the accompanying mandate to "Speak the truth in love..." (Eph. 4:15) We don't have to be insensitive jerks when taking a stand or disagreeing, but my whole point in this post is that it is not unloving to judge evil as evil. We are saying "This is what God says..." and then we love as we have been loved.