That's what the stranger told me. This was her judgment of me after I had asked her a few questions about a situation in her life. She had asked me to perform a wedding ceremony. So I asked whether this was her first marriage, and she said "no." I related what the Bible teaches about proper divorce and remarriage and then asked whether her life met this scriptural criterion (Matt. 19:9). Replying "no," I offered to have further study with her on the Bible teaching about this subject. She declined, saying that the Bible had nothing to do with the decision she was making. Restating my interest in discussing God's word with her about it, I also told her she would have to find someone else to perform her wedding since my faith would not allow me to do so. She said "thank you" and hung up the phone. She called back two hours later to say that I was being "very judgmental." God will judge.

Is it ever right to judge the life of another person? Many say "absolutely not," but the Bible answers the question with a qualified "yes" (cf. 1 Cor. 5:12-13).

To judge means to "separate, select, choose, to determine" (Vine), and carries with it the idea of investigation (ISBE, III:1777). Thus, proper "judging" is "an examination leading to a determination, which enables one to separate right from wrong, truth from error" (emp. jrp). Jesus said that men should uprightly about Him: "judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24).

To Judge Righteous Judgment We Must:

1. Use the proper standard. The standard must be the word of Christ (John 12:48). Only truth-God-inspired Scripture-is the approved measuring stick for righteous judgment. God judges according to truth, and we can be assured that He will accept nothing less from our judgments (Rom. 2:2).

2. Use the proper evidence. That is, we must avoid drawing a conclusion upon the basis of hearsay, opinion, gossip or circumstantial evidence (cf. Jn.7:50-51). Facts must be our only interest as we render judgments from time to time in our lives. To use less than the facts is foolish indeed, and it will lead to making false judgments (Prov.18:13).

3. Use the proper motives. Godly motives must be to determine truth, to urge obedience to the truth of God, to reprove and rebuke sin to try to save souls (1 Thess. 5:21-22; 2 Tim. 4:2; James 5:19-20; Jude 20-23). One way we fall into unrighteous judging is through hypocrisy. We condemn ourselves when we condemn a person while we are doing the same sort of thing ourselves (Matt. 7:1-5). Unrighteous judgments also grow out of a self-righteous exaltation of self that minimizes and accuses others (Luke 18:9-12). Still another way evil motives lead to impure judgments is by holding evil thoughts toward the thing or person coming under judgment (James 2:1-4). The bottom line here is that making proper judgments requires us to practice what we preach (Rom. 2:17-24).

We Must Not Judge:

1. The hearts and motives of others (1 Cor. 2:11). Since it is impossible to know another man's heart without him telling us, judging his heart is not within our sphere of capability or our realm of responsibility. We happily leave that task to God (Acts 1:24; Eccl. 12:14).

2. The personal liberties of others (Rom. 14:1-5, 10, 13). This involves areas that are morally indifferent, since liberties are "lawful" (1 Cor. 10:23). Like eating or abstaining from meat, both courses of conduct are allowed by God and ought not to be condemned by men (Rom. 14:3-5; 1 Tim. 4:3-5). In such areas we are taught to forego our liberty so we do not cause one who is weak in conscience to stumble (1 Cor. 10:28-33; 8:4-13).

3. The law of God (James 4:11-12). When we mistreat others we violate the law of God and judge it to be an unnecessary standard for us to follow. We elevate ourselves above God by following our dictates instead of God's stated will. We must yield to God's law over us as supreme lest we become judges of God's law.

We are taught that we must judge the doctrines and actions of men to know whether they are true (1John 4:1-6; Rev. 2:2). Jesus said "by their fruits you will know them" (Matt. 7:15-20).

We must judge righteous judgment to avoid sin, to help save others, and to remain faithful to Christ.

- The Spirit's Sword, 10/15/06
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