To Judge or Not to Judge
That is the Question?

(All quotes are from the King James Version as this is an accurate translation).

There is a fair amount of confusion regarding the matter of judging as Christians. We all know the verse and have all used it at some time or another –

“Thou shalt not judge” – Matthew 7:1 Judge not lest you be judged.

I have a saying, God quotes chapters and satan quotes verses. It’s all too easy for us to simply take a verse or part of a verse and quote it to support our opinion. We have to look very carefully at scripture to ascertain exactly what is being said. When we read the Bible we quickly conclude that to judge is not optional – it is mandatory. The entire scripture from Old Covenant to New Covenant is one of correction. Our hearts are continually wandering from the laws and statutes of our God, which God put into place to spare us from His judgements.

From the Old Covenant we see God raising up Kings, Prophets, Priests, Servants and Judges – to pull the people of God back into the right direction by returning to His Word. All correspondence comprising the New Covenant is written primarily in this same context – to right that which has gone astray. For us not to judge is a recipe for disaster. However if we are going to judge, how we going to judge is just as important. If we judge according to our flesh, our opinion, our likes and dislikes, even if we discern the situation correctly – we are party to as much error as the other party. Judge we must, but please consider these scriptures first:

Rom 12:15-16 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. [Be] of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Phil 2:3 [Let] nothing [be done] through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

1 Thess 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

1 Thess 5:13-15 And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. [And] be at peace among yourselves.

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, be patient toward all [men].See that none render evil for evil unto any [man]; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all [men].There are many, many more scriptures to support this, but not to judge and let a sin or error fester in the Body is extremely negligent.To begin this study I am going to quote a series of scriptures from Jesus, Paul, James etc. looking at the use of the word – to judge, I will then look at the context and the language to get the full and correct meaning.

Are we to Judge?

First we must look at some very basic words in Greek and how they are used.

Krino – to judge: to distinguish, try, condemn, punish, avenge, conclude, damn, decree, etc. This is the root word meaning to judge – which seemingly has a negative implication.

However, if we put the prefix ”ana” we have anakrino, which means – to discern, scrutinise, investigate, interrogate, ask, question, examine, search, judge. You can see the positive aspect of the words usage.

In 1 Cor 2:15 we have the scripture; But he that is spiritual judgeth (anakrino) all things, yet he himself is judged (anakrino) of no man.

We are commanded in the Word to anakrino – to judge everything.

Another prefix is “dia” which gives us diakrino, which means to decide, discern, be partial, make differ or render a decision.

1 Cor 6:5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge (diakrino) between his brethren?

Here, the church in Corinth is in a mixed up state with sin etc. and Paul is upset that there is no “Watchman on the wall” able to judge right and wrong amongst the brethren.

We are commanded to diakrino – to judge.

1 Cor 14:29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.(diakrino)

We are commanded to judge prophecy. Proverbs 28:4 They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.

Now lets look at one of the most misquoted scriptures in the Bible. Matthew 7:1 Judge (krino) not lest you be judged (krino)…

Vs 2: 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 brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Everyone quotes verse one in this chapter but leaves out verse five: - Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye. This illustration is not about judging – it’s about hypocrisy, but notice how people will say ‘judge not’ and then leave you hamstrung, unable to do anything. If a brother is taken in sin we are to examine ourselves first, repent, correct our lives and then correct him or her, but not leave them to their own devices and the judgement of God. The warning to us is this: if we are hypocritical we must repent in our own lives of the sin and then go and correct the problem in the other brothers’ eye. Proverbs 27:5 Open rebuke [is] better than secret love. We see in a number of places where Jesus judged the Pharisees and the Sadducees;

Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

In Matthew chapter 15 the scribes and Pharisees come to Jesus, to test Him yet again. In no uncertain terms Jesus says; Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth, and honour me with [their] lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.

Hypocrites – there is that word again, its not the judging that’s the problem, it’s the hypocrisy.

Mark 11:15 And they came to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;

Was Jesus judging here? Of course He was, as the Temple had become a money making racket! He was furious at what should have been the House of Prayer. Jesus Himself said the temple would be a house of prayer not a business Mark 11:15. They used to sell many things in the market place and yet Matthew 21:12 and Mark 11:15 specifically mention selling doves – the symbol of the Holy Spirit. There are ministries today that are selling the ministry and gifting of the Holy Spirit.

There are however types of judging that we are not meant to do:

Krisis – decision for or against – accusation, condemnation and judgment.

In this capacity we are not allowed to judge.

Look at this scripture, which in English looks like Jesus contradicts Himself

John 8:15 Ye judge (krino) after the flesh; I judge (krino) no man.

John 8:16 And yet if I judge (krino), my judgment (krisis) is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.

This right of supreme judge has been bestowed upon Jesus Christ and Him only – we must not judge by condemning to hell, as this is the sole right of Jesus Christ as He paid the price to condemn or pardon in relation to repentance and the washing of His blood.

John 5:22 For the Father judgeth (krino) no man, but hath committed all judgment (krisis) unto the Son:

This sort of judgment belongs only unto the Son of God – to send to Heaven or Hell.

John 12:31 Now is the judgment (krisis) of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

Let’s take a look at what Paul says;

Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest (krino): for wherein thou judgest (krino) another, thou condemn thyself; for thou that judgest (krino) does the same things. (It is not the problem of judging here but - Hypocrisy again)

Romans 14:10 But why dost thou judge (krino) thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 1 Cor 4:5 Therefore judge (krino) nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

In each instance (and there are obviously more) when told not to judge, we see the use of the root word krino – to judge as to condemn.In contrast to this remember some people did terrible things to Paul and to God’s ministry in his life and he had to warn the church of these people.

Here are examples of Paul judging other Christians in a righteous fashion- judging according to the Word.

3 John 1:9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the pre-eminence among them, receiveth us not.

1 Tim 1:20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

2 Tim 2:17+18 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

2 Tim 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:

This is not a case of Paul having a bad attitude of revenge toward Alexander.

Like Jesus, the Prophets, James, Peter etc. we are to defend the church from corruption and deception.

1 Cor 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth (anakrino) all things,

My wife and I some years ago joined a fellowship and soon became active in leading worship and co-pastoring of the church. After some while we both felt that there were things going on behind the scenes which were wrong but could not put our fingers on. To cut a long story short the church fell into pieces with the Senior pastors running away overseas in the middle of the night to escape prosecution from the law. We found out later that they had a history of financial ‘discrepancies’ in previous ministries. A while later I met up with a person who said when they heard we had joined that particular church they felt they should have contacted us to warn us, but did not. You see they should have judged – anakrino on our behalf and saved us a lot of heartache.

Lets take a look at what James says;

James 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of [his] brother, and judgeth (krino) his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth (krino) the law: but if thou judge (krino) the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge (krites).

Now look and see a few verses earlier in the chapter – very strong words of rebuke from James to Christians.

James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

To judge is not a thing to be taken lightly, for you and I stand as the Oracles of the One True God and judge on His behalf – to keep the flock safe. I see many prophets and Pastors not protecting the sheep.

It becomes plain that all of the prophets judged, John the Baptist judged, Jesus judged etc. etc. but will that end up being a slinging match with the church going round slandering each other? No, nobody is perfect and we are to remember Gods grace and mercy toward us.

Galations 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

How are we to judge then?

Jesus said:

John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

Question is, what is righteous judgment? God’s judgment is the only righteous judgment and that is - His Word.

1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for [the LORD sees] not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.

So the first command is not to judge by our eyes, not to judge by appearances, as we will always be prejudiced toward our own fleshly desires.

James 2:1-4 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, [the Lord] of glory, with respect of persons.

For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? I have been in a church where, if you were wealthy, good looking and especially smartly dressed you would be in a leadership position within weeks of joining the church (I kid you not). One particular Pastor told me he judged a man by what type and quality shoes he wore.

Look at this prophetic chapter regarding Jesus;

Isaiah 11:2 - 4 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

But with righteousness shall he judge the poor.

This is a prophecy concerning our Messiah Jesus and that He will not judge by the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears. If this is the head – Christ Jesus and we are the body of Christ, then we must be obedient and do the same – do not judge by what we hear or see but use righteous judgement.

The word of God is righteous and we are to keep the Word ever before our eyes, when a situation or person comes across our paths we look through the filter of His Word - the truth.

Psalm 119:169-172 Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word.

Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word

My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.

My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments [are] righteousness.

Let’s see things through God’s Word, let’s see people through God’s Word, let us understand things and the world around us not by our own distorted vision and understanding, but by His Word. Let us judge according to His righteous Word.

My opinion is unrighteous but God’s opinion is His Word, which is always righteous. Amen!

Kritikos - To Discern

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hupo-Krites - hypocrites

Luke 6:42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite (hupokrites), cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye. Notice how the verse still says you must pull the mote out of your brothers eye!

Matthew 7:15-20 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit.

good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

The problem of Moral and Civil Law

In chapter 5 of first Corinthians Paul is addressing a problem that has been reported to him of sexual immorality of a man who has had sexual relations with his father’s wife (his stepmother). Paul responds:

1 Corinthians 5:3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged (krino) already, as though I were present, [concerning] him that hath so done this deed,

vs. 5 – deliver such a one to satan, vs. 9 – do not keep company with sexually immoral people etc. Obviously this unrighteous relationship had endured for some time, and this man had not changed his ways. Paul therefore delivers a very strong judgement, which is to preserve the pureness of the fellowship at Corinth. Paul gives a list in verse seven of the danger of those who are immoral – and not to keep company with them or even eat with them. The Word and the conviction of your spirit will convict you of sin – you and I know when we have done wrong and we should repent – the sooner the better. But when a person continues in sin this requires the Elders in the church to address the person/s (see Matt 18:16, 2 Cor 13:1 and 1 Tim 5; 19) – if they are not heeded then they must be told to leave the church. That immoral person cannot be left to fester in the church or fellowship environment – this is a moral law. If this person breaks the law then they must be reported to the authorities, theft, sexual assault, fraud etc. these are all moral laws and to save that person and the community – that so called brother or sister must be reported to the relevant authorities. Criminal Law was originally based on a moral basis and in chapter 5 Paul is talking about an immoral person and a criminal situation.

Civil Law

In contrast to moral law we have the problem of Civil Law, in 1 Cor chapter 6 this is the problem of Litigation, where verbal and contractual agreements have been made between brethren. Paul wants to keep the Ministry and Church blameless before the unbelieving world and courts.

vs6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.

2 Cor 6:3 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed. Yes there is a dispute, it’s financial and it is unrighteous. I was reading of a Christian writer who wrote for a one particular Christian publisher. This particular publisher took financial benefits from loopholes in the contract and after the unrighteous dealings came to light the problem reached stalemate. Instead of dragging the case through the courts (and newspapers) he made known his case and displeasure – he forgave the offending party and walked away. None of this is at all easy. What price do you put on righteousness before God? You and I can ‘misappropriate’ money through our work, church, family or business and make say £100 maybe? £1000 Or £100000 – what price do we put on righteousness? Lets judge ourselves first before we make any judgements at all. Make no mistake God does not sleep Psalm 121:4 – but judgement is coming to the household of God first.

1 Cor 6:1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?

Again, it mentions the fact that we should bring this matter (try to) before the Eldership in the Churches to judge right from wrong in the matter.

Of course there are scam artists who pretend to be Christians and go about defrauding the sheep and these must be reported to the relevant Authorities.

Krites - The Judge of All

Hebrews 12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge (krites) of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

God is the Judge of us all and at times he raises us up to judge on His behalf – whether as a Prophet or Apostle or as a Pastor protecting the sheep. Deacons and Elders uphold the structure of the church, teachers correct and Evangelists reap the ungodly into the house of God to have His laws written on our wayward hearts and constrained into righteousness, but God is the ultimate Judge of us all.

Conclusion:

I have no doubt that in the end times we will be facing more and more deception coming into the church. Jesus and Paul knew that after their departure ravenous wolves (dressed like sheep) would come into the flock to divide and deceive Matthew 7:15, we must be on guard in these end times to be as gentle as doves and wise as serpents.

So in what capacity and why should we judge? It’s not to bring division or strife into the Body -neither is it to puff ourselves up by putting others down. We are to beautify the Bride of Christ by measuring Her up against the Word – exposing that which is evil and not of God, - wiping away the blemishes – first in our own lives and next in the Body – fit for the Masters return.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

Shalom

Rev. Paul Speich

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