Command 15 : Judge Not | Day 99 Judge Not! God sets up judges to rule over civil matters and puts leaders in the church to judge spiritual matters and carry out church discipline. (See Romans 13 and I Corinthians 5:12-6:3.) In the future, saints shall judge the world and also judge angels. However, Christ did not come “to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47) in a demonstration of Gods love. He wants this to be our focus as well. Therefore, He commands: Command Fifteen: “Judge not that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brothers eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” (Matthew 7:1-3). This is a difficult command to obey because it is easy to form personal opinions of other people based on our evaluation of their appearance, background, viewpoints, associations, etc. When we judge them as being unacceptable and beneath us, we fail to recognize the benefits that they can bring to our lives, and a wall goes up between us. In the Book of Esther, Hamans life is an example of the subtle fallacy and inherent consequences of judging. He was irate when a Jewish man refused to bow down to him. Haman decided that this Jew and all those he represented should be annihilated from the empire and took steps to accomplish this. Because Mordecai had publicly withstood him, Haman planned a public execution of Mordecai with a gallows 75 feet tall. But, the results of judging that Jesus spoke of in this command occurred, and Haman was hanged on the very gallows he had built for the one whom he had judged. The fallacy and destruction of judging others is failing to recognize the value that they bring to our lives. God is aware of our tendency to judge others, especially fellow believers. He put all believers in the Body of Christ, and Paul points out that “those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour ... . [because] God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism [division] in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another” (I Corinthians 12:23-25). The connection between the members of the body is also true of relationships in life. Haman did not realize that the man whom he despised was directly related to the Queen of the Persian Empire. For this reason, he received the wrath and condemnation of King Ahasuerus. In contrast to this example, a family in Pennsylvania began to minister to a group of elderly people in a nursing home. They did not realize that the son of one of the residents was a prominent political leader. Through his influence, this family has now been given opportunities to serve government leaders. Lets purpose never to assume that a person is not important, and treat each one as someone whom God loves and for whom Christ died. Through Christ our Lord, Bill Gothard “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged ...” (Matthew 7:1-2).
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 02:03:12 +0000
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