More stuff on "Do not Judge"
DO NOT SPEAK AGAINST ONE ANOTHER, brethren. He who speaks against a brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law, and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of it (James 4:11).
Do not speak against one another. Do not speak against your brethren. Do not judge your brother. Is that what it says? Look at verse 4 of the same chapter….
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility to-ward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God (James 4:4).
You adulteresses!
Do not judge your brother!
From the pen of the same apostle, in the distance of a few paragraphs, in almost the same breath that he is saying "do not judge," James calls worldly churches "adulteresses."
SPIRITUAL ADULTERY
James is probably the oldest book of the New Testament. We know from its Hebraic background, from the way it draws on synagogue leadership structure and the Scriptures, that it was obviously written to Jewish Christians.
James is using the Hebrew concept of whoredom or harlotry. Whenever Israel went into idolatry, God calls it "adultery." Idolatry equals spiritual adultery.
Israel was to be God's woman, in much the same way as the church is the bride of Christ. The church being unfaithful is like Israel being unfaithful. That idolatry is called "adultery." It is a very strong term in Hebrew, a very strong concept in the Jewish mind.
BY THEIR FRUIT…
Every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:17-20).
Jesus said that you can judge someone by their fruit. In the same chapter, He says, Do not judge lest you be judged (Matthew 7:1).
First it is, "Judge not lest you be judged," yet He goes on to say, "You will know them by their fruits." People involved with Toronto and Pensacola say, "You know Toronto/ Pensacola by its fruit and there is good fruit from it."
Jesus never said that you would know a phenomena by its fruit. He said that you would know a person by their fruit.
More than that, even judging a phenomenon by its fruit, you can see that it is not the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is self-control, not drunkenness and lunacy.
CONTRADICTIONS?
Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgement (John 7:24).
First Jesus says, "Judge not lest you be judged," but then He says, "Judge with right judgement."
James appeared to contradict himself. Now Jesus seems to contradict himself. Jesus said, "Don't do it," then He tells you how to do it. James said, "Don't do it," straight after he did it.
Therefore you are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgement, for in that you would judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things (Romans 2:1).
Therefore do not go on passing judgement before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things that are hidden in darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God (1 Corinthians 4:5).
But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God (Ro-mans 14:10).
For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this [the guy in question here was involved in an incestuous relationship with his father's wife ], as though I were present (1 Corinthians 5:3).
Over and over, Paul says, "Don't judge." But then he passes judgment.
Jesus says, "Don't judge," but then he says to do it and shows you how.
James says, "Don't judge," but then he does it.
Why the contradictions?
GOD IS THE JUDGE
If God says in the Bible that something is wrong, and we see someone or some church do that thing, we are not judging them, it is the Word of God that judges.
The Hebrew name, "Jehoshaphat" means Jehovah has judged. That is not me or you judging. We are simply acknowledging, "This is what God says."
James was not calling worldly churches "adulteresses." The Word of God says that, if we are attached to this world, we are an adulteress church.
Paul was not saying that the man involved with his step-mother was immoral. Paul was saying that the Word of God says that person was immoral.
If God says that something is plainly wrong, that is not you or me judging, that is God judging.
That is what it means when it says, "Judge with right judgement." Judging with right judgement means judging with God's judgement, not with our own.
There is a big problem here -- there are things that I would not do, but which are not necessarily wrong for someone else.
PEOPLE'S OPINIONS
There is the case where some believers, after their wedding, went to a discotheque. (I would not go to a discotheque unless I was certain God had a mission for me) I would not feel a peace about going, but I am not going to make a big deal out of it, no matter what my own misgivings or feelings.
Another case in Ireland where, at a Christian wedding, people danced. Other Christian people became indignant and began yelling, "You're backsliders," and stormed out of the wedding, creating a big scene. It split a church. That is people judging.
The word "Laodicea" has to do in the Greek with "people's opinions, people's judgements." We have no right to make a judgement of another person, but once God says something is right or wrong, that is not us judging.
ANAKRINO -- TO DISCERN
The Greek word for "judge" is krino.
If you put the prefix "ana" in front of the word "krino," you get a variation on the idea of judging, which is "to discern."
But he who is spiritual judges [anakrino] all things, yet he himself is judged [anakrino] by no man (1 Corinthians 2:15).
God, in His Word, commands us to anakrino. It is not a right; it is not a privilege; it is not something that is advisable. We are commanded to do it. And if you do not discern, you lack wisdom.
DIAKRINO -- TO DECIDE
I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide [diakrino] between his brethren? (1 Corinthians 6:5).
Another prefix which changes the meaning of krino is "dia." Diakrino means to "render a decision." Is something right or wrong? Is someone's behaviour right or wrong morally? Is it Scriptural or unscriptural? Is it of God, or is it of the flesh, or of the devil?
The Holy Spirit speaking through Paul commands that we are to diakrino.
We are not permitted to diakrino. We are not advised to diakrino. We are not privileged to diakrino. We are commanded to diakrino. It is not that judging is acceptable. Rather, to fail to judge is unacceptable.
