Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

To Judge or Not to Judge

A Paradox?

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Romans 14:10-12

Paul begins this chapter with examples of disputes within the body of Christ. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables…One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike… The operative question here is not whether the food or the day is legally right. Rather, the issue is one of the heart. It is whether or not the person does it as unto the Lord. Col 3:18-25

The word for”judge” that Paul is using in Romans 14 is the same word Jesus used in Mathew 7.

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

Mat 7:1

That word is krínō – to try, condemn, punish:–avenge, to damn… In contrast, we have the seemingly contradictory “judge” in 1 Corinthians 2.

The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.

1 Cor 2:15

The word for judge here is anakrínō investigate, interrogate, determine:–ask, question, discern, examine, search…

As Paul has repeatedly pointed out in Romans 12 and 13, vengeance belongs to the Lord. We are to bless, not curse… We are to overcome evil with good. We don’t Krino people. We anakrino.

Right?

Many people ignore blatant sin and call it grace. This is incorrect. “Bless not curse”, doesn’t mean we turn a blind eye to blatant error or sin. We are to confront error and sin head-on. We do so out of love for the one who is in error knowing that each of us will give an account of himself to God.

So often I hear believers misquote and or misappropriate scripture. Some are confused. Others do it to justify or minimize sin. It can be tempting to view these people through the lens of Habakkuk amidst his cry to the Lord especially when their heresy harms others.

Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.

Habakkuk 1:3-4

If I am honest, I have been tempted to call fire down from heaven only to receive the same rebuke that Jesus gave the disciples in Luke 9.

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.

Luke 9:51-56

In Habakkuk’s case, he got the justice for which he pleaded. The Lord sent justice in the form of the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. He sent the Chaldeans to seize the dwellings of the hypocrites and abusers. But then Habakkuk was also in their midst. Keep in mind,

If we demand justice, we must be prepared to receive justice.

For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

Mat 7:2

If that weren’t confusing enough, In 1 Corinthians 5 Paul declares we are to Krino those within the church.

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

1 Cor 5:9-13

Wait a minute! I thought we were to anakrino (discern), not krino (condem) another.

“Well…Yes and No”.

Rolland Baker

In Romans 14 Paul asks Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? Krino (condemnation) judgment that results in my despising a brother is a judgment of my brother’s heart. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul is calling believers to judge the ACTIONS of other believers. A man or woman actively engaged in sexual sin needs to be confronted and possibly ostracized from the body IF they refuse to repent. Still, the fact remains that the underlying cause of their promiscuity may be related to childhood trauma, especially sexual abuse. Hence we condemn the actions, not the soul of a person. Like the father of the prodigal son, we are to remain open to receive them back the moment they are ready to repent. That openness is not dependent on their perfection but rather their willingness to try even if they fail seven times.

for the righteous falls seven times and rises again…

Prov 24:16

Incidentally, “Seven” was a Hebrew idiom equivalent to our contemporary English use of “one hundred percent!”

💯

As in mathematics, there is an order of operations in judging. Scripture commands me to (anankrino) examine myself first to see if am still in the faith. 2 Cor 13:5-7 I begin with the prayer of David.

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Psalm 139:23-24

Is there a Mathew 7:1-5 log in my eye? Many, if not most times, we judge the heart and motives of our brethren because we see our own reflection in them. For example, Paul illuminates that path of sin in Romans 1:18-32. “Amen!” We say. Then comes the proverbial rug pull in Romans 2.

For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things…

Romans 2:1

On the flip side…

The opposite extreme is to avoid passing judgment on the actions of another because we are or have been guilty of the same sins. We confuse the intent of scripture if, after we remove the log from our eye, we ignore or, worse, condone the speck in the eye of another.

We saw this when Lew Engle confessed his struggle with lust at the One Thing conference in 2018. Mike Bickle attempted to shut Lew down by minimizing the sin Lew was boldly confessing. Today Mike Bickle has been exposed for decades of blatant sexual sin. Mike’s argument toward Lew in 2018 was in effect,

“STOP! All this talk about your speck is convicting me of the log I have been rationalizing and justifying.”

No! The path to holiness and the perfection to which Jesus calls is a trajectory, not a single event. A scary albeit paradoxical fact is that our refusal to judge the actions of our brother could be the event that sets our trajectory in a direction that is contrary to what Jesus taught. Scripture tells us that in minimizing or enabling the sin of others we become partakers with them.

Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.

2 John 1:9-11

Recently a woman who wreaked absolute havoc in our community through substance abuse and serial adultery posted on Facebook that she had been sober and walking with Jesus for a year. In truth, she had just been kicked out of the last in a long line of homes where people tried to help her. There were dozens of comments from those who knew the truth yet praised her and her phony achievement. I commented,

“The only people who can not recover are those who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves.”

AA Big Book

She responded by blocking me.

So often, people dilute or avoid speaking the truth in the name of being loving. “Loving” is defined as anything that makes people feel good and preserves a relationship. Yet love does not and can not exist apart from truth.

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols?

1 Corinthians 6:14-16

Still, even the most sincere followers of Christ can make errors. That is why we study scripture together. About a year ago I had a theological discussion with some men whom I deeply respect regarding the subject of adultery. The question at hand was, “is viewing pornography adultery?” I said yes and quoted Mathew 5.

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Mat 5:27-28

Apart from me, the consensus was that adultery required the physical act of intercourse between two people. Otherwise, everyone present would be guilty of adultery. I say amen! Sometimes, the truth hurts. I’m not pointing fingers at anyone but myself. The point here is that the standard for truth, the judgment of our actions and those of other believers, is solely determined by the teaching of Christ according to scripture. Jesus said, looking lustfully at a woman is adultery. Period! Every man I know has been guilty of it at some point. The question is not how close can we get to sin and remain innocent. But rather what does scripture say, and have we repented for what is in our hearts? Is there a difference between daydreaming of sex with a woman, not your wife, and having sex with a woman, not your wife? Of course. One is a thought. The other is an action. One is not better than the other. One sin precedes the other. The second sin brings us closer to death.

How close do you want to get?

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

James 1:14-15

But Brian, Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. This is true. But bear, believe, hope, and endure all things are not synonyms for “IGNORE ALL THINGS”. They are statements of faith in possibilities and potentials. As Cathy likes to say, “There is hope as long as there is breath.” All of God’s judgments are redemptive while we are alive on earth. Love always speaks truth because truth is what sets people free. Our willingness to call a proverbial spade a spade is proof in action that we believe and hope for all things. Love speaks truth Eph 4:15 Bearing and enduring all things often pertains to the wrath and rejection we face when speaking the truth that hurts. One thing seems certain, if we don’t judge our own hearts, others will be left to judge our actions. If we refuse to judge the actions of others, we might be consigning them to God’s Krisis judgment. Suffice it to say that Krisis is the Greek word from which the English word Crisis is fittingly derived. Again, there is a linear progression of judgment for believers, Anakrino, Krino, and Krisis. It is better to face the first two head-on than face the third. It’s better to face the third in this life than the next because,

Each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Chew on that.

Maranatha

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

On Hypocrisy

Romans Chapter 2

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. Rom 2:1

Paul is addressing what modern psychology calls projection.

Projection is the process of displacing one’s feelings onto a different person, animal, or object. The term is most commonly used to describe defensive projection—attributing one’s own unacceptable urges to another.

As we discussed in What is in Man Jesus understood the nature of all mankind according to the flesh. As much as we like to talk about all human beings beings made in the image of God, that image applied universally to Adam and Eve. Everyone who came after was a corrupted mutation of that image. But to all who did receive him (Jesus) who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12 Hence all believers are works in progress on our way to becoming fully conformed to the image of God. Rom 8:29

What Jesus knew is in Man is the culmination of Romans chapter one.

every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity, envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice, gossip, slanderer, insolence, arrogance and boasting; invented ways of doing evil; the lack of understanding, fidelity, love, and mercy (as in man). Not only do they continue to do these things but they approve of (and commiserate with) those who practice them. Rom 1:29-32

It is so very important to understand that our redemption by the blood of Jesus is not a license to sin. The law and the standard for holiness has not change.

For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Mat 5:8

Many believers mistake Jesus’ last words “It is finished!” John 19:30 for all is accomplished. It is finished in Greek is tetelestai from teléō. Perhaps the best analogous context is a business transaction where a debt is paid in full. Jesus was the final blood sacrifice that paid for all sin. All is accomplished in Revelation 19-22. All means the restoration of All God’s creation to its original status before the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Victory over sin and death is just the beginning. The indwelling of Holy Spirit is a down payment toward our full inheritance. Eph 1:14 

The main error that Paul exposes in the first three chapters of Romans is one of overvaluation of identity. The Jews saw themselves as righteous by way of their Jewish bloodline. Some gentile believers regarded their newfound born-again status, or their identity, as won and done. The fruit of this error can be seen in Martin Luther’s proclamation, “Love God, sin boldly.” Jesus died for all my sins so I don’t need to worry about sin. Right?

Wrong!

…Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? Rom 2:4

The riches of His kindness made possible by the Cross, are what allow us to come boldly to the throne of grace. Heb 4:16 And to be forgiven provided we confess our sins. 1 John 1:9 Those who simply take the cross of Jesus for granted and minimize or justify instead of rectifying their sins and failures through confession and repentance are hypocrites.

The Jews thought they were righteous because they had the law. Apparently like today, many Jewish and gentile believers thought hearing the law, e.g. going to church and claiming to believe what they heard made them righteous. Paul made it clear that

For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. Rom 2:13

While we are not exempt from doing what the law says, we do it His help.

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Heb 4:14-16

At the end of the day, God is most concerned with the intentions of our hearts. Those intentions are defined by our actions.

For a righteous man may fall seven times
And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from him. Prov 24:16-18

Paul continues to reinforce the theme of projection and resulting hypocrisy throughout the chapter with a discussion of circumcision.

For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. Rom 2:25

Similar to baptism for believers,  circumcision was an outward expression of an inward commitment. While it might be tempting to focus on Paul’s seeming emphasis on distinctions between Jew and Gentile, it’s really not the point. Not at this point anyway. Once again, Paul is writing to the church in Rome. Hence he is speaking to both Jewish and Gentile believers. The message for contemporary believers remains the same. Pursue righteousness by doing what is written to the best of your ability with God’s help. Let us not redact scripture to fit the lifestyle we want to lead.  Don’t be a hypocrite.

The most sobering verse in Romans 2 is

You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” Rom 2:23-24

We constantly hear people justify sin, be it theirs or the sins of others in the name of grace because they errantly believe that the law is irrelevant because Jesus fulfilled it. Hence

love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Pet 4:8

Love is the crucifixion of Jesus that resulted in our justification, not our justifications that demand tolerance for our sins. This is Paul’s point when he says ...God’s kindness is meant to lead (us) to repentance…in Rom2:4

While church leaders and especially teachers are subject stricter qualifications and standards, 1 Tim 3,  James 3 Every believer impacts someone.

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. “Woe to the world for temptations to sin!  For temptations must come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! Mat 18:5-7

The word for sin and temptation here is skándalon– a trap. However, the trap here includes leading by wrong example. A person consumed by sexual sin and yet claims to represent the gospel of Jesus Christ  falls into the catagory of Romans 1:32.

Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

These are the ones by whom “The name of God is blasphemed (among unbelievers)” Rom 2:23-24

The very idea of covering up or making lite of our or another person’s blatant sin is neither righteous nor loving.

But then here is where projection can make a proverbial twist. Sometimes people errantly give what appears to be grace. We may assume their intentions are pure.  They simply misunderstand the nature and purpose of grace. “They‘re just nice,” we say. When in fact they are reticent to call out and expose worthless deeds of darkness Eph 5:11 because they are guilty of the same sins. …You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? Rom 2:21 A contemporary twist is; if I commit adultery; do I excuse adultery because I am guilty of the same thing? In covering up the sin of another with what I term love and grace; do I hope the same sins will be covered up for me?

There is no end to how those with one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom will twist God’s word to justify their behavior and the behavior of those whom they are afraid to confront. If this is how a church body or a body within a body operates the end result will at best always be but a variation of what happened at IHOPKC and multiple other ministries over the last twenty years. In the end God is blasphemed and people reject Him because of our failures.

At the end of the day, the overarching theme in Romans 2 is simple.  Right is right. Wrong is wrong. If we know what is right because we got it from scripture then we’d better be doing it. People are watching and looking to justify their unbelief by our actions. When we fail as we all do at times, then we’d best be ready to immediately confess and repent. Anything else makes us hypocrites. This is one reason why Paul said, leaders must be above reproach. 1 Tim 3 And James said, not many of you should become teachers, James 3:1

Woe to the hypocrites. Mat 23

If you are reading this and asking “Where is the love?”, consider the possibility that you have a deficient understanding of love. Why is Paul so hard? Because

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Prov 9:10

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Ecc 12:13-14

The love of God can not be understood apart from the fear of God, His goodness apart from His severity.

Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. Rom 11:22

So often any mention of the fear of God, His law, and the pursuit of holiness is dismissed as “religious”. Within the charasmatic stream, the word religion has become a pejorative. The implication is that Jesus was only hard on the religious people. We are “Spirit Filled”. For the record “religion” is from the Latin  Relegere to reread and Religare to bind fast, an obligation, a bond between man and God. In a nutshell, being religious means are who we say we are, and we do what we are supposed to do regardless of who we are with. Being Spirit filled means we have the power to walk in integrity. Integrity is a fruit of being unspotted from the world. James 1:27 Among other things, our religion should produce integrity.

Integrity is the antithesis of Hypocrisy.

Maranatha!